Papa Gibbs
by ReluctantSlashFan
Summary: A brush with death and a trip to the fair. Gibbs makes an ill-advised wish that makes his team more juvenile...
1. Chapter 1

Gibbs had sent his team ahead of him to the crime scene in order to finish up a conference call in MTAC. He had complete faith that they could get started on their jobs without him, and only had to worry about them bickering over who did what.

He had just wrapped up his call, and was leaving MTAC, when he almost ran into Vance. The moment he saw the look on Vance's face, Gibbs knew something was wrong.

"Gibbs, it's your team."

Jethro didn't wait to hear the rest of Leon's speech, already sprinting towards the stairs, worry pulsing through his veins. If something had happened to them, he didn't know what he would do, and a part of him couldn't quite shake the fact that this felt like his fault.

Gibbs broke more traffic laws than he usually did trying to get to his team. He couldn't shake the images that plagued him; each one more gruesome than the last. What if they were dead? He'd never get to tell McGee how proud he was of the agent he had become. He would never get to tell Ziva she wasn't her father's blunt little instrument. And Tony, he would never get to tell DiNozzo he was the son he never had; that Gibbs would never regret the day he suggested Tony join his team.

They were his family, the closest thing to children he had since Kelly, and he could have lost them. And the worst part, he was even there for them.

He spotted the smoke first, black clouds billowing into the air, and felt his stomach drop. A fire could mean an explosion. Did the suspect blow up his place to destroy evidence? And if he did, did he take himself with it? He could be running around right now, patting himself on the back for a job well done. Gibbs made a mental note to track the bastard down.

He took the corner at thirty, narrowly missing a parked van, still expecting the worst case scenario, but was taken by surprise at the sight.

Several firefighters were standing in front of a burning house, spraying water over the remains of the ranch. An ambulance stood several feet from the commotion, two familiar figures sitting in the back, their legs dangling a few inches from the ground; while a third, familiar figure, paced back and forth in front of them, holding her arm.

Gibbs threw the car into park and threw open the door. Leaving the vehicle running, he rushed towards his team, noticing the array of cuts and bruises scattered across their bodies and their dirty clothes. Tony had a shiner around his left eye and was holding an ice pack to his side and McGee was getting his left ankle wrapped by a paramedic.

Relief rolled through Gibbs making him feel slightly light headed, but he was still Gibbs so the first words out of his mouth were, "What the hell happened?"

"The house blew up," Tony slurred glancing at the smoldering remains.

"Ya think, DiNozzo," Gibbs retorted, wondering if Tony had been giving pain meds, or if he were having a reaction to a concussion.

"It was a trap," Ziva said continuing her feverous pacing. "It had to be a trap. I should have known it was a trap."

"Ziva," McGee said softly, "you couldn't have known."

"That is an excuse, McGee. I am trained to anticipate these things. I should have known."

Gibbs left his team for a few seconds, heading towards a local LEO. The man was trying to cordon off the area, attempting to keep the neighbors from getting too close to the scene. He noticed Gibbs, and gave him half his attention.

"What happened?" Gibbs demanded after showing the man his I.D.

"We think the suspect blew his house up so your team couldn't collect any evidence. We're not sure if the bomb went off prematurely, or if he wasn't aiming to kill, but your team managed to walk away with their lives."

"Did this son of a bitch get away?" Gibbs growled reminding himself of the mental note he had made earlier. This asshole needed to be dealt with and jail was too generous.

"A couple officers picked him up two blocks away," the LEO replied and Gibbs nodded, heading back towards his team. He'd deal with him later, once he knew they were going to be okay.

"How are they?" he asked stopping the paramedic as she walked past him.

"Agent David nearly dislocated her shoulder, Agent McGee sprained his ankle, and Agent DiNozzo's ribs are bruised and I gave him some pain meds. Probably wouldn't hurt to get checked out by a doctor, just to be sure, but I'm pretty sure they are going to be fine."

"Thanks," Gibbs said and returned to his team's side.

"Hey, Gibbs, the house blew up," Tony informed his boss, pointing at the blackened studs.

"I see that, DiNozzo," Jethro responded and his SFA nodded. He turned to Ziva and said, "What exactly happened?"

"We were approaching the house when it just blew up," she replied as she lowered herself onto the ambulance's bumper, sitting in between Tony's legs. Absentmindedly, Tony began playing with her hair. Ziva merely glared his way, but didn't try to stop him. "I was blown back into McGee and Tony, we hit a fence, and the next thing I know I'm awaking to a siren."

"I want Ducky to check you three over," Gibbs said after a digesting what Ziva had told him. He still couldn't shake the guilt he felt; even after knowing it wasn't his fault.

"Abby is going to have a fit," McGee commented softly just as Ducky and Palmer pulled up to the crime scene. The ME van barely stopped before the back door flew open and Abby came sprinting towards them.

"Oh my, God," she shouted waving her hands, "oh my, God, oh my, God, oh my, God. Are you guys okay? Oh my, God, you could have died." She looked each one over, pacing back and forth at a faster rate than Ziva had been moments earlier. "Oh my, God. What happened? Was it a gas leak? I heard it was a bomb, but it couldn't be a bomb. I refused to believe it was a bomb." Abby shook her head, continuing to pace back and forth.

"Abbs, calm down," Gibbs said softly, but for the first time she didn't hear him.

"I mean, when Ducky told me the crime scene had blown up, I thought you had died. And Gibbs," she started turning to the older man, looking him up and down, "why aren't you hurt? I mean, I am glad you aren't hurt, but why aren't you hurt?"

That was just what he needed, a reminder that he wasn't there to protect his team. Abby hadn't said it to hurt him, but she still said it nonetheless. As Abby continued to rant, Gibbs couldn't help feeling responsible, again. He _should_ have been there; there was no excuse to why he wasn't. That call wasn't nearly as important as his team. Why wasn't he there?

**NCIS**

It had been Abby's idea to go to the carnival. She felt the team needed to unwind after nearly dying and wouldn't take no for an answer. So, they piled into two separate vehicles, and drove the ten miles to the fair.

According to the sign, it was the last day before they started packing up, and the place was packed. Gibbs didn't want to be there, but a part of him felt he should really be keeping an eye on his team. However, it was easier said than done. They began breaking off into groups the moment they stepped through the gate.

Abby dragged McGee towards the Ferris wheel, the latter limping slightly as he tried to keep up. Ziva muttered something about the shooting gallery, and Palmer decided to tag along. And Tony noticed the food stand, and wandered over to it without a word.

"I know what you are doing," Ducky commented snapping Gibbs back to reality and away from searching for his team.

"What's that?" the younger man replied, playing dumb, glancing at his oldest friend.

"You can't always be there for them, Jethro," the ME said softly.

"I need coffee," Gibbs snapped but walked in the opposite direction of the food stand.

"Jethro," Ducky called after the younger man, hurrying to keep up. "Their accident wasn't you fault," he said the moment he caught up to Gibbs.

Jethro didn't respond, instead he stopped short of an old Zoltar machine and rested his arms on it, leaning against it, keeping his back to Ducky.

"Jethro, blaming yourself isn't going to change anything."

"And what next, you'll tell me being there wouldn't change anything either?"

"Well, of course not. The only thing you would have accomplished is being injured yourself."

"Duck…"

"No Jethro. I know you care for your team, I know you see them as your children, but you can't treat them like children."

"They'd be a lot easier to keep an eye on if they were," Gibbs muttered glaring at the Zoltar's face.

"What are you suggesting? Do you wish they were children?"

"Maybe I do," Gibbs snapped turning to look at his friend, causing the older man to fight to not flinch away from him. They stared at each other for a few seconds, neither saying a word. The tense silence was soon broken up by DiNozzo saying, "Big!"

"What?" Gibbs questioned looking towards his SFA.

"The movie! 1988, Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins. About a kid who just wants to be older." He rushed towards his boss and Ducky, stopping short of the Zoltar machine. "I haven't seen one of these since I was a kid.

"Hey, boss, do you have a quarter?" Tony asked staring at the machine. Gibbs didn't respond, he just threw Tony a look and walked away from Ducky and DiNozzo.

**NCIS**

It took some convincing, but he finally persuaded his team to come home with him. He felt safer knowing they were close by, but he didn't tell any of them that. He made it seem like he was more worried about their injuries than anything else.

He made up the two guest bedrooms, figuring one of the boys could sleep on the floor. He then made himself some coffee, with a shot of bourbon, before going to bed himself.

It seemed like he barely fell asleep, when he awoke to the strange sensation that someone was watching him. Very carefully, so as not to scare whoever it was, he peeled an eye open. He had been expecting one of his team, maybe a burglar, but he was surprised to see a pair of bright green eyes and sandy blond hair.

"Hi," he said slowly sitting up, a four-year-old boy coming into view. "Who are you?"

"They're fighting," the little boy said quietly, sitting back on his heels. He was wearing a t-shirt several sizes too big for him. Gibbs found it odd that McGee had been wearing the exact same shirt the night before.

"Who's fighting?"

His question was answered when he heard a thump from upstairs and a loud voice scream, "Get off me!"

"Say you are sorry!" a second voice snapped.

"I will not!" the first voice growled before a squeal sounded followed by a slap. "Fine, I'm sorry!"

Gibbs pushed his blankets away from him, slowly getting off the couch. The sandy haired boy pulled himself to his feet, and followed Gibbs towards the stairs. Slowly, Jethro ascended them, the sound of tiny feet trailing behind him.

He crept down the hallway, stopping short of the room he had left Ziva in the night before. Slowly, he pushed the door open to see a dark haired little girl sitting on a brunette boy, a triumphant smile on her face.

"And that is why girls are better than boys," she said and stuck her tongue out at him.

"You are a mean person," the brunette snapped trying to push the girl off him.

"Stop calling me that," the girl retorted and smushed his face into the carpet.

"See I told you they were fighting," the sandy haired boy said pointing at the two.

"Stop telling," the brunette boy snarled, finally managing to knock the girl away from him. He pushed himself to his feet, looking up at Gibbs.

"No," Gibbs said shaking his head back and forth. "No," he repeated backing out of the room, nearly knocking the sandy haired boy over.

He rushed back down the stairs, trying to get as far away from those kids as possible. This was all just some really bazaar dream. And he would wake up, soon, to find his team the way they were supposed to look, and not four-year-olds, because it wasn't possible to convert adults to four-year-olds. It just was not possible.

Yet, his team was upstairs, several decades younger than they were supposed to be. _No,_ Gibbs snapped at himself, _this is all a dream. Your team is not four. No. You are a sane, rational person. This kind of crap does not happen to you._

A memory from the night before hit; him and Ducky standing in front of that stupid fortune teller machine. They had argued, Ducky had told him that his team weren't children, and Gibbs had admitted he wished they were. Maybe this wasn't a dream, maybe he did do this. Oh what a mess he had to clean up.

He turned, noticing the three kids staring at him, all in a line. He realized he had been pacing across the kitchen floor, holding a mug of bourbon he didn't remember pouring. He glanced down at the mug, realizing he couldn't drink it even if he wanted. Not with three four-year-olds in the house.

He laughed, pouring the bourbon down the sink. This was just his luck, a stupid movie prop turning out to be real. What next, Ducky would walk into his house claiming to be Ashley-Pitt from _The Great Escape?_

"Um, mister, are you okay?" the sandy haired boy questioned.

"Maybe we should call an ambulance," the brunette boy suggested.

"That would be stupid. He is not even bleeding," the little girl snapped, rolling her eyes when the brunette boy stuck his tongue out at her.

"What are your names?" Gibbs finally asked once his laughing subsided. He already suspected who they were, but it didn't hurt to get confirmation.

The three kids shared a quick look before the brunette stepped forward, pointed at himself, and said, "Anthony D. DiNozzo."

"I am Ziva David," the girl replied and moved so she was standing next to the brunette boy.

"Timmy McGee," the sandy haired boy muttered staying behind the other two.

"I need coffee."

**NCIS**

**This was written because I wanted to do a de-aging story for so long. I read a few I thoroughly enjoyed, and wanted to put my own spin on it. Besides, this is Benny and I's first shot at a Gibbs centric story. Let's see how we do.**

**So, thanks for reading, drop a comment if you can, and see ya in chapter two (if you want one).**

**We own nothing.**

**Bye...**


	2. Chapter 2

Once Gibbs got some coffee into him, he was able to face the situation head-on. So, his team was now four, his stupid wish came true. Improbable sure, but it happened. He knew he probably had to get to the carnival grounds before the trucks shipped the rides and attractions to their next location, but he also knew he had to get his team something to wear.

He was fairly certain he had some of Kelly's stuff in the attic, but he wasn't sure if any of it would fit his team. Besides, he wasn't sure how well the boys would react to having to wear girl clothes. He could always go shopping for them (something that didn't please him in the slightest), but he couldn't leave any of the kids here. Nor could he very well take them with him dressed the way they were.

The only option he really had, was calling Abby. That is, unless Abby had been changed, too. Panic shot through Gibbs, he hadn't even thought about this 'situation' expanding to Abby. He took six seconds to make sure each kid was staying out of trouble, Tony having turned the television on and found cartoons, before he grabbed his cell phone and called Abby's place.

The phone rang twice before a cheerfully familiar, yet very adult, voice answered, _"Hello?"_

"Abbs, hey," Gibbs greeted relief washing through him. He would have hated to leave a little Abby by herself, no matter how old she was actually supposed to be; now all he had to worry about was big Abby getting too attached when he managed to wish everyone back to normal. This was all turning into some bad Sci-Fi movie. Or that _Big_ movie Tony had been talking about, except in reverse.

_"What's up, bossman?"_ Abby asked and Gibbs could hear her bustling around her apartment. He knew she had probably been up since four, the Goth barely sleeping more than three hours a night. Sometimes Gibbs thought it was all the caffeine she consumed, other times he truly believed it had something to do with her never ending energy. Whatever the case, this was one of the few times he was actually glad she had a sleeping schedule similar to his.

"I need you to come over here," Gibbs said calmly, glancing into the living room to see Tony poke McGee. Tim shied away from Tony, but ended up poked again. In retaliation, Ziva punched Tony in the arm. Gibbs knew he had to hurry up the phone call before another fight broke out.

"_Why?_" Abby questioned suddenly stopping whatever she had been doing, sounding slightly worried.

"It's nothing to worry about," Gibbs replied hurriedly, not needing Abby freaking out on top of everything else. "Just come here, please."

_"Okay_."

"Thanks Abbs," Gibbs said and hung up just as Ziva and Tony started kicking each other. He tossed his phone on his table before rushing towards the two kids, scooping Ziva off the couch before either one could really hurt themselves.

She struggled for a second, but not in fear of Gibbs. She was more preoccupied with trying to get at Tony, who was now standing on the couch egging her on, jumping up and down, the motion making McGee's face turn a slight green color.

"Sit down," Gibbs snapped at Tony and the brunette dropped back onto the cushions, his green eyes widening slightly. The older man deposited Ziva in the easy chair when she had stopped struggling, throwing a stern look her way when she tried to get up.

"Here's the deal," Gibbs started looking between Tony and Ziva. "No more fighting, do you understand me?"

"She started it," Tony yelled just as Ziva shouted, "He started it." Both had pointed at themselves.

"I don't care who started it," Jethro scolded. "I'm ending it. And if there is anymore fighting both of you will be put in timeout. Understand?" Both kids dropped their hands in their laps and averted their eyes, slowly nodding their heads. "No, I want to hear you both say you'll stop fighting."

"Fine," Tony muttered pouting slightly. "We'll stop fighting."

"We are sorry," Ziva replied looking up at Gibbs.

Gibbs looked between the two before nodding. He turned to look at McGee, the green hue having subsided from his face. He was looking down at his lap, obviously thinking he was in trouble, too. "You're not in trouble, Tim," Gibbs said softly and the little boy looked up, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Did you do anything wrong?" Gibbs asked crouching down to look in the sandy haired boy's eyes. He shook his head. "Then why would you be in trouble?" The little boy shrugged. "You won't be scolded unless you do something wrong, okay?" he nodded. "Okay."

Gibbs stood up, checking his watch, wondering when Abby was going to get there. She had to be on her way, no doubt worried even though Gibbs told her not to be. She would be busting the door down any second now.

"What's your name?" McGee asked catching Gibbs by surprise. It took Jethro a second to remember none of the three kids had any time to ask. They had gone from fighting, to suggesting calling him an ambulance, to cartoons without stopping for questions in between.

As good as he was with kids; Gibbs couldn't believe how easily these three trusted him. It was as if they knew his presence was familiar without actually knowing his name, but the only thing that mattered was that they trusted him. At the very least, in any form, his team knew he wasn't going to hurt them. Not intentionally anyway.

"You can call me Gibbs," Jethro finally said, knowing he had taken _way_ too long to answer.

"What kind of name is Gibbs?" Tony questioned seeming to not notice the pause in between McGee's question and Gibbs' answer.

"It's my first name," Jethro replied patiently. "My first name is Leroy."

Tony snorted, "Leroy? That sounds like a dog's name."

"Well, my friend Alfred's dog is named Tony," McGee piped up, attempting to defend Gibbs.

"Nobody asked you, McGoober," Tony retorted and Gibbs was certain he saw Tim's eyes slowly fill with tears. Jethro knew he had to defuse the situation before something made it ten times worse.

"Who's hungry?" he asked when he noticed Ziva scooting to the edge of her chair. She wanted to defend McGee's honor, he could tell, and didn't care about the consequences.

"I could eat," Tony responded, a huge smile spreading across his face and hopping off the couch. "Do you have any Lucky Charms?"

"What about eggs?" Gibbs suggested and the little boy shrugged.

"I do not like eggs," Ziva huffed crossing her arms, no doubt upset that she wasn't able to defend McGee.

"How's about toast, then?"

"With jam?" the little girl questioned perking up, slowly uncrossing her arms.

"I'll see what I've got."

"All right," Ziva replied and slid off her chair, hurrying to catch up to Tony, both bickering about whether or not girls were better than boys. They each crawled into a chair at the table, opposite each other, and continued their argument.

Gibbs turned to McGee, who had not moved an inch from the couch, still looking like he wanted to burst into tears.

"Hey," Gibbs said quietly, taking a seat next to the sandy haired child. "What's wrong?"

"M-my name is _not_, M-McGoober," McGee stammered, sniffing.

"Tony knows that," Gibbs said softly. "He was just kidding."

"H-he was b-being mean," the small boy whispered and a single tear fell down his face.

"Hey, listen to me." Jethro placed his fingers under McGee's chin, lifting his face so his green eyes met Gibbs' blue ones. "I won't let Tony, or anyone, be mean to you, okay?"

"Promise?" Tim muttered his green eyes continuing to sparkle in the light from the early morning sunlight.

"I promise," Gibbs whispered and let the little boy's face go, getting to his feet. "Let's get you guys something to eat, okay?"

"Okay," McGee replied, rubbing the heels of his hands into his eyes to clear any remaining tears.

Gibbs smiled down at the little boy before leading him to the table. He had McGee sit at the end of the table, in between Ziva and Tony (both finally giving up on their argument), and he went into the kitchen to begin cooking for them.

He began making the eggs, listening to the three kids whisper to each other, and finally he heard Tony ask, "Where are our parents, Gibbs?" It was the one question Gibbs had been anticipating, and was surprised hadn't been asked a lot sooner.

He figured they thought he was some kind of baby-sitter or something. Or it could have taken them a while to realize their parents weren't hanging around. Who really knew what was going on in their heads, and it had only been a half an hour since they found themselves in Gibbs' house.

Whatever the reason, Gibbs knew he had to make something up. He wasn't a fan of lying to children, but he knew he couldn't exactly tell them the truth. He would probably only succeed in scaring each and every one of them. Besides, he only had to lie to them for a few more hours. Just until Abby got there and then he could head out.

He would first stop by the carnival yard, check with the owner, see if he could get a few seconds with the Zoltar machine. Then he'd stop by the store, pick up a couple things for the three kids (just for today because by tomorrow they should be back to normal), and hope his team didn't get called in for any cases today.

With a plan in mind, he turned back to the three kids and said, "They asked me to watch you guys for the day. They should be back by tomorrow morning."

"Well, are they working?" Tony asked curiously. Gibbs almost forgot just how many questions little kids liked to ask.

"Yes," Gibbs replied returning to his task. Ziva's toast had popped from the toaster, and Gibbs carefully took it out, placing it on a plate.

"My daddy is always working," Ziva said softly, her voice full of sadness.

"Mine, too," Tony and McGee said together. Gibbs knew each one of his team members had father issues as adults: McGee's father expected too much out of him, Tony's father just wasn't there for him half the time, and Gibbs didn't even want to think about Eli David.

But to hear them discuss their issues, as children, nearly broke his heart. He never realized just how much of a workaholic each of their fathers had been. McGee's was most likely overseas while he was growing up (like Kelly). Before Tony's mother died, his father probably spent a majority of his time working at the office to keep the life he had built for his family and himself. And who knew what Ziva's father did as a Mossad officer to miss spending time with his daughter. No wonder he fought to keep each one on his team.

The kitchen fell into an uncomfortable silence. Gibbs finished making the boys' eggs, put strawberry jam on Ziva's toast (it was the only thing Gibbs had), and served each kid their breakfast just as the door flew open and Abby raced inside.

"I came as fast as I…" she trailed off, her eyes widening at the sight. "Are you trying your hand at daycare?" she asked looking at each kid in turn. "I mean, it would be great for you to do Gibbs. You are so good with kids. Though, I'm curious as to how McGee, Tony, and Ziva reacted to having three kids running around while they tried to sleep.

"And look how much they actually look like McGee, Tony, and Ziva." She approached the table, walking in a slow circle studying each kid. None of the three kids paid her any attention, all three eating their breakfast in silence. "They have the same hair, the same eye color, and I swear they were wearing the same…" Abby's eyes widened and she looked up at Gibbs. "No," she whispered.

"Abbs…"

"How did this happen?" she asked looking back at the three kids. She managed to get the kids' attention now, all three giving her curious looks. They didn't seem scared of her-again it was like they recognized her presence-more like enthralled by her.

"Abbs," Gibbs tried again.

"This isn't possible," she whispered sitting down next to Ziva and studying her for a second. "I mean, you see this in movies not…"

"Abby," Gibbs tried a third time, and finally the Goth looked at him. "I promise, I will explain everything later, but right now I need you to watch them."

"But Gibbs…"

"You're leaving!" Tony exclaimed giving Jethro a look of outrage. "I thought you were 'pposed to be watching us."

"And I will be, but I have to run an errand. I just need you to stay with Abby for an hour."

"An hour!" the brunette's eyes widened as he tried to do the math. "That's like forever!"

"Tony," Gibbs said softly, but he was speaking to the other two, too. They looked as if they didn't want to part with him. He walked into the kitchen, taking the clock from the wall. He carried it back to the table, sitting it in the middle. "You see this clock?"

"Yes," Tony replied while the other two nodded.

"When the big hand reaches the three, I promise I will be back. Okay?"

"But Gibbs, what happens if…?" McGee started, his eyes darting towards Tony so quickly Gibbs almost missed it.

"Abby will make sure everyone behaves," Gibbs said and McGee nodded. "And you two," he turned to Tony and Ziva, "no fighting. Abby will tell me if you do, okay?"

"Yes Gibbs," they both said together.

"Good."

Jethro moved away from the table, stopping short of Abby. "I'm going to get dressed and then head out. There should be some toys somewhere in the attic, maybe you can get them down, just to give them something to do."

"Where are you going?" Abby asked obviously still trying to process what was going on.

"To get them something to wear."

"Wait," Abby said finally snapping back to reality. "You're going shopping?"

"They need something to wear, Abbs." Shopping wasn't exactly Gibbs' favorite past time, hell it didn't even make the list, but he knew he couldn't let the three run around in too big t-shirts all day.

"I'll go," Abby volunteered raising her hand.

"But who's going to watch these three?"

The words were barely out of Gibbs' mouth when the door opened and Ducky called, "Jethro, Abigail called and told me you might need my help."

Gibbs threw Abby a look, and she shrugged and said, "I thought someone might have hurt themselves more."

"Jethro, what has…?" Ducky trailed off as he turned the corner, stopping when he spotted the three kids sitting at the table. "What's this?"

Gibbs really didn't have time for this, so he took his credit card from his wallet and handed it to Abby, "Explain things to him, and please don't go over my limit."

"Yes sir, Gibbs sir," Abby said saluting him. He smiled slightly and rushed upstairs to get dressed. Once he was ready to go, he said good-bye to each child, and headed out.

**NCIS**

"I'm sorry, Agent Gibbs," the carnival's owner said as they stepped into his tiny office trailer. "Things are pretty hectic on tear down day."

"That's fine," Gibbs said as both men took a seat.

"So, what can I do for you?" the owner asked intertwining his fingers and leaning forward.

"I was hoping to get a look at your fortune telling machine," Gibbs replied getting right to the point.

"Fortune telling machine?" the owner gave Gibbs a questioning look, obviously having no clue what he was talking about.

Gibbs' gut churned, but he said, "Yeah, that Zoltar machine you had next to the entrance."

"I can assure you, Agent Gibbs. We do not have a Zoltar machine of any kind. Not since I hired my sister to pose as the psychic. And that was twenty years ago."

"So, there is no fortune telling machine?" That wasn't possible. Not only did Gibbs and Ducky see it, but DiNozzo did, too. How could three perfectly sane men see a machine that apparently didn't exist?

"I'm sorry," the owner apologized holding his hand out.

"Yeah," Gibbs responded shaking the man's hand. "Thanks for your time."

**NCIS**

**You guys are so amazing. I thank you so much for every review, alert, and favorite from you, and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Anyway, I haven't really spent a lot of time around kids, but I did do some research, talked to my mother, and attempted to add anything I could remember from when my brother was four. So, if anything is a bit off, I am sorry and I will try better in the next chapter.**

**A lot of you asked about Abby being a kid. And as much as I would have loved to have a mini Abby running around, I really wanted adult Abby. Plus, I also wanted to give Gibbs a fighting chance. Three is hard, four would be killer.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, I own nothing, and drop a comment if you want.**

**PEACE OUT...**

**P.S. I am actually working on chapter four right now. So, chapter three should be up next week sometime.**


	3. Chapter 3

Gibbs returned home a few minutes before he had promised, still reeling from what he had learned. Apparently the Zoltar machine didn't exist, or at least the owner didn't believe it existed. It was as if the machine appeared just for Gibbs. But why, what was the purpose, and how was he going to fix his team if he couldn't find the machine?

He was about to step into his house, noticing Abby's car parked against the curb (he really hoped she was sensible with her purchases) when his phone rang. He took the device from his pocket and flipped it open. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"_I have been trying to call your team_," Leon's voice said from the other end.

"Leon?" Just what Gibbs was trying to avoid, getting called in for a case when everything was so messed up.

"_Doesn't your team know when to pick up their phones?"_ Vance sounded irritated, and Gibbs wanted nothing more than to tell Leon exactly what was going on, but a better idea hit. He had to let Vance in on the secret anyhow; he could be very helpful if SECNAV asked too many questions.

"We'll be there in twenty, Leon," Gibbs said and hung up. He pocketed his phone and continued into his house.

He hung his jacket up in the closet by the door, stepping into the living room, only to freeze at the sight. Shopping bags were scattered across the floor. A few had toys and coloring books, but the majority had clothes spilling out of them.

Abby sat on the couch, trying to convince Ziva to put on the skirt she had bought, while the little girl shook her head and clung to the khakis in her hand, already wearing a purple tank top. The boys, both fully clothed, were wearing matching jeans. But where McGee was wearing a tiny MIT shirt (Gibbs not even attempting to figure out how Abby found one) Tony was wearing a black over shirt on top of a blue t-shirt.

"Abbs," Gibbs said looking at all the clothes again.

"I got carried away," she said shrugging, giving up on Ziva. The little girl gave a triumphant smile before pulling the khakis on. Once she was dressed, she and the boys started digging through the bags, looking for shoes.

"It feels tired," Gibbs said when Abby handed his credit card back.

"So, what's going on?" Abby asked ignoring his comment, just as Ducky wandered into the living room, holding a mug of steaming tea in his hand. Gibbs glanced at the three kids, each busy pulling on a pair of black high tops, and nodded towards the kitchen.

The two adults followed him, glancing back at the kids for a second before turning back to look at Gibbs. Jethro studied his team for a few seconds before meeting Abby and Ducky's eyes and asked, "Remember the carnival last night?" They nodded, a flash of irritation crossing Ducky's face.

Gibbs quickly recapped everything that had happened, skimming over the argument he and Ducky had had, and finished with the errand he had just run.

"So, you're saying they're stuck like this?" Abby asked nodding towards the living room. Gibbs looked over her shoulder, watching as Ziva paraded around the room in her shoes and the two boys dug in the toy bags.

"I don't know," Gibbs admitted meeting her eyes.

"Maybe, like in the movie, you have to learn your lesson," the Goth suggested, shrugging.

"What?"

"You know in the movie. When Tom Hanks' character had to realize growing up too quickly wasn't worth it. Or something like that, I haven't seen the movie in a couple years. I'm sure Tony…" Abby let her voice trail off, glancing back at the little boy again.

"Perhaps she's right, Jethro," Ducky responded, picking up where Abby trailed off. "You did make the wish, you did do this to them. Maybe this machine won't return until you learn whatever it is you are meant to learn."

Gibbs threw Ducky a look, but didn't respond. What could he possibly learn? That his team was better off as adults? If that were the case, then the Zoltar machine should be back. Last night was a moment of irrational thinking. It was never supposed to happen. He understood all of this, so where was the damn machine?

His phone rang again, knocking him back to reality, but he didn't bother taking it from his pocket. He knew who it was. "Look," he started looking between Ducky and Abby, "we'll deal with this later. Right now, I have to get to the naval yard."

"Ooh, I'll watch…"

"No, Abbs, I need to take them with me. You didn't, by any chance, happen to get some car seats, did you?"

**NCIS**

Gibbs was able to borrow a couple car seats from his neighbor down the street. The woman had had twins a while ago (Gibbs was fairly certain they were twelve by now) and they didn't need them anymore. He also dug Kelly's old car seat out of the garage, buried under years' worth of junk and memories. He made a note to pick up a third later, since the 80's model didn't look very comfortable, but figured it would have to do for now.

It took him and Ducky a few minutes to get all three car seats buckled into his car, and even longer to convince each kid to actually get in their seats. Tony and Ziva seemed to not want to be confined, and McGee mumbled something about the space being too small.

When each kid was buckled in, and looking very disgruntled, Gibbs was already five minutes late. But he didn't care; he'd get there when he got there. Leon could hold his damn horses.

Abby and Ducky followed him to the naval yard, each parking within two spaces from his. Gibbs got out of the car just as a loud voice announced, "I have to go potty!"

"Yeah, me too," Tony responded, nodding his head.

"What about you?" Gibbs asked looking at McGee. At first he thought the kid was going to tell him 'no', but it seemed since everyone else had to go, he had to go too. So, he nodded.

"Okay, let's get you out of the car."

It took less time to remove them from the car then it did to put them inside, and the three kids ran around the car with their newfound freedom. Gibbs asked Ducky and Abby if they could take them to the bathroom before ushering each child into the building, the adults following behind him.

Once they were on their respected floor, they broke off into groups. Abby took Ziva to one bathroom, Ducky took the boys to the other, and Gibbs headed up the stairs to the director's office.

Leon's assistant barely had the phone in her hand before Gibbs burst into Leon's office. The younger man looked up, giving Gibbs a sharp look, and said, "Sometimes I wonder if you even work here."

"I'm here, ain't I?" Gibbs questioned and Vance's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Is your team here, too?"

"See for yourself," Gibbs replied before walking out of the office, not even waiting for Leon to catch up. He stopped at the balcony, looking down on the bullpen, noticing each kid had sat at their respected desks. Though, Tony was spinning around in his chair, Ziva was scribbling on a piece of paper, and McGee was reading a book he had brought with him.

"Who are they?" Vance asked stopping next to Gibbs.

"My team, Leon," Gibbs answered simply, shrugging.

"Seriously Gibbs," Leon started giving Jethro a tired look, "who are they?"

"DiNozzo," the older man started pointing at the brunette who had jumped down from his chair and was wobbling around now. "David." He pointed at Ziva who had balled up her drawing in frustration and threw it away. "And McGee," he finished pointed at the sandy haired boy who threw the book on his desk, looking thoroughly bored.

"You're screwing with me?"

"Nope."

"But that's not possible."

"Apparently it is."

"Seriously, Gibbs, where the hell is your team?" Vance was getting angry now, Gibbs could tell, but he really didn't know what to tell him. That was his team down there, this wasn't a joke, and Gibbs didn't have time to convince Leon it was the truth.

"Look, believe me, don't believe me. I really don't care. That's my team; they aren't going to be much help to me. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to take a men's magazine away from DiNozzo," Gibbs snapped before rushing down the stairs just as Tony pulled a GSM magazine from the bottom drawer of his desk.

He came up behind DiNozzo, watching as the kid flipped through the pages with a look very much like the one he usually wore when looking through those magazines. Gibbs snatched it from his hand, getting a shout of protest, and carried the magazine to his desk, depositing it in his bottom drawer and locking it.

"Gibbs, we weren't done," Vance snapped stopping next to Jethro's desk. Out of the corner of his eye, Gibbs noticed all three kids had gathered into a small group, each watching the director warily. Even as kids, they weren't sure whether to trust Leon Vance or not. Hell, sometimes Gibbs wasn't sure whether to fully trust Leon.

"I'm not going to try and convince you, Leon," Gibbs replied sitting at his desk.

"He's telling the truth," Abby piped up as she and Ducky joined the group. It seemed the kids left them behind when they returned to the bullpen. "They're McGee, Tony, and Ziva."

"They are both quite right. Comparing the children now to how they usually look, you'd see they are the same people. Unless you want more proof, and I doubt Jethro will consent to a DNA test," Ducky spoke up. There was no way Gibbs would subject each of his team to a DNA test to appease Vance's doubts.

Vance looked around the empty bullpen, sighed, and said, "Let's say I believe you. How did this happen?"

"It's a long story, Leon," Gibbs responded noticing the kids relax a little now that they knew Gibbs was no longer in trouble. "I just need a few days off to fix this."

"If there is a way," Abby muttered under her breath, and Gibbs threw her a sharp look. She shrugged in a 'well, it's true' sort of way. And he knew she had a point, but Jethro wasn't going to give up until he exhausted all of his options.

"What does that mean?" Vance questioned looking back at Abby.

"Nothing," she replied giving him an innocent look. Vance turned back to Gibbs, his face torn between believing Jethro and continuing to argue with him, but finally he sighed and said, "How long will you need?"

"A week for now," Gibbs responded watching as his team slowly returned to their desks.

"And what do I tell SECNAV if he asks where your team is?"

"Put us all down for vacation time. Tell him…"

"Tell him the entire team almost exploded yesterday and Gibbs felt it was necessary that they utilize the vacation days they have piled up," Abby butted in, stepping towards the director. There she went again; unintentionally reminding Gibbs he hadn't been there for his team. "I know that doesn't sound like Gibbs, exactly, but he can't always be a bastard like everyone says."

Ducky tried to hide a smile while Vance's eyes flashed with amusement. He drew in a deep breath and said, "You've got a week, Gibbs. If they aren't fixed by then, I'll have to assign you a back up team until they are." Gibbs nodded his thanks. "As for you two," Leon started turning to Ducky and Abby. "I still expect you to be working."

"But Gibbs…"

"Is fully capable of handling this, Miss Sciuto," Vance interrupted, cutting Abby's words off. "I can't afford to let my entire staff take the week off."

"Fine," Abby sighed looking disappointed. "Can I at least spend my lunch break with them?" She flashed Vance her puppy dog look and he gave her a small smile before pointing towards the elevator. "Bye, my lovelies," she said to the kids, looking their way.

"Where are you going?" McGee asked first and Tony and Ziva nodded. Gibbs could tell none of the kids wanted to see her go.

"I've got to go to work, but I promise this afternoon I'll stop by for lunch." She hurriedly gave each one a hug and a kiss on top of their heads before hurrying away.

"I must be off, too," Ducky informed Gibbs' team, getting looks of disappointment from the three children. He waved good-bye to each one before following Abby.

"Do you have to work?" Ziva asked in a small voice, looking up at Gibbs.

"Nope, you get me all to yourselves," the older man responded as he started collecting their jackets and handing them to each kid, Leon still standing by his desk. "And right now, I want to get out of here."

"Me, too," Tony piped up taking his jacket from Gibbs. "Can we go to the park?"

"Yeah Gibbs, please," Ziva begged pulling her jacket on. McGee nodded as he zipped his jacket to his chin.

"Yeah," Jethro relented, and the three kids cheered, Tony taking the lead as they ran towards the elevator.

"Remember Gibbs, one week to fix them," Vance said and Gibbs nodded before hurrying to catch up to his horde.

**NCIS**

**Hi guys! So, how's things? That's good.**

**Anyhoo, I really hope you enjoyed chapter three. I am having so much fun writing this story, and I really am glad you guys/gals are enjoying it.**

**Thanks so much for the reviews, alerts, and favs last chapter. You guys are truly amazing!**

**Anyway, I should go.**

**Thanks for reading, leave a comment if you can, and I own nothing.**

**PEACE OUT...**

**P.S. I am currently on chapter six right now. So, chapter four will be up next weekend... if not sooner.**

**Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, so I combined chapter four and five because nothing big actually happened in four. Hope you all don't mind.**

**So, thanks for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites last chapter. You guys are awesome.**

**Thanks for reading, leave a comment if you want, and I own nothing.**

**BYE!**

**NCIS**

The moment Gibbs released the three kids at the park they took off in opposite directions. Ziva headed towards the monkey bars, Tony the slide, and McGee the swings. Gibbs walked towards a bench, taking a seat next to a younger woman.

"Are all three of those yours?" she asked moving her baby's stroller back and forth, the rhythm keeping her child from waking up.

"Uh, yeah," Gibbs replied nodding. It was better than trying to explain what exactly had happened to them.

"You and wife must have your hands full." Gibbs just nodded, watching each kid closely. McGee was swinging by himself, dragging his new shoes into the mulch when he went too high, while Tony abandoned the slide to join Ziva. The little girl was swinging back and forth across the monkey bars, trying to work up the courage to let go and grab the second one.

"The blond one is mine," the woman informed Gibbs, pointing at a kid who was running around the jungle gym, a rocket ship in his hand, making motor sounds. "His name's Nathan. What are your kids' names?"

"Tim," Gibbs started pointing at McGee while he clambered off the swing and started towards Tony and Ziva. "Tony," he pointed at DiNozzo as he started poking fun at Ziva for giving up on the monkey bars. "And Ziva," he finished gesturing to the little girl as she glared at Tony before trying again.

"Ziva? That's an interesting name."

"Yep." Gibbs watched as Ziva told Tony to go away. He stuck his tongue at her, but did as she asked, returning to the slide. He grabbed McGee's arm on the way, and dragged him to the slide with him. Jethro noticed what Tony was doing, alienating Ziva from him and Tim so she'd have to go and play with them. Gibbs wasn't sure if it would work, but it was a smart move.

"I sense Ziva and Tony don't really get along," the woman whispered.

"Usually they do, but I guess today is just one of those days."

They continued to talk back and forth, while Gibbs kept an eye on the kids. Ziva soon got bored playing by herself and wandered over to the kid with the rocket. She began talking to him, Tony glaring down at the two when he realized his plan didn't work. Ziva had found a friend; she didn't need him to play.

"So, how old are they?" the woman asked and Gibbs broke his gaze from his team, glancing over at her.

"Four," he answered, though he couldn't be one-hundred percent sure. He hadn't exactly specified which age he wanted his team to become, but they looked and acted four, so he was going with four.

"Nathan just turned five last weekend," the woman responded, and Gibbs nodded glancing back at the kids just in time to see Tony push Nathan down.

"Crap," he whispered springing to his feet and rushing forward, the woman steps behind him.

"Oh my God, Nathan!"

"Tony, no," Gibbs said scooping the little boy up off the ground.

"M-mommy," the little blond boy cried as his mother picked him up.

"I'm sorry," Gibbs apologized as DiNozzo struggled in his arms. Yes, he said apologizing was a sign of weakness, but this was one time weakness was necessary. To the woman, his kid just pushed hers down.

The woman just shushed her son as she carried him back to her baby. Gibbs shook his head, collecting the rest of his team, and carried the still struggling DiNozzo back to the car.

**NCIS**

"Can I get up yet?" Tony asked from the kitchen chair sitting next to the cellar door.

"Five more minutes," Gibbs responded as he continued making lunch. Ziva and McGee were in the living room coloring.

"I'm bored," Tony whined crossing his arms.

"You should have thought about that before you pushed that kid down," Jethro retorted finishing the third and final PB and J.

"I said I was sorry," DiNozzo grumbled.

Gibbs chose not to reply to him. He merely carried the sandwiches to the table and called Ziva and McGee to come and eat.

"Well, can I at least get something to eat? I'm hungry."

"You can either wait four more minutes or eat now and return to time out for four minutes afterwards."

Tony thought it over; no doubt torn between leaving time out when he was supposed to and returning once he had eaten his lunch. Food must have won out because he jumped down from the chair and rushed towards the table.

"Remember, you finish your time out after you eat," Gibbs reminded the brunette as he walked towards his fridge.

"Gibbs I'm…" McGee started but trailed off when he realized the older man had taken a carton of milk from the refrigerator.

"Thirsty Tim?" Gibbs asked and the little boy nodded.

"Me too," Tony announced around a mouthful of peanut butter and jelly.

"That is icky," Ziva commented and Tony opened his mouth, revealing his food. "Stop it, Tony!"

"Make me," he responded, spitting food all over the table.

Ziva opened her mouth to say something, but Gibbs beat her to the punch. "Either eat your food, Anthony, or it'll be ten more minutes in time out."

"Sorry," Tony muttered as Gibbs set a glass of milk in front of him.

Gibbs' door opens and Abby appeared around the corner, carrying a bag of food from a diner down the street from the naval yard. Behind her was Ducky and Palmer, Gibbs almost forgetting about Ducky's assistant. It was going to become increasingly harder to keep this from everyone if he kept letting people in on the secret.

"Holy crap, you weren't kidding," Palmer said circling the table to look at each kid.

"I told you not to overreact, Jimmy," Abby replied placing her bag on Gibbs' dining table.

"I'm not overreacting. I mean, if Tony were… well Tony, he'd be flipping out right now. This is almost like the movie. Except, well neither made the wish themselves and none of them aged. It's de-aging. Like that movie…" Jimmy trailed off, his face screwing up in thought. "Well, I know Tony would know, I just can't think…"

"Why do you keep saying my name?" DiNozzo asked wiping his fingers on his jeans.

"What?" Palmer stopped circling the table, noticing everyone staring at him. His face flushed and he stammered, "I-I was talking a-about another Tony."

"There's another Tony," Ziva questioned, a disgusting look on her face. "There are two icky Tonys?"

"I am not icky," DiNozzo protested glaring at her.

"This one is older," Abby supplied before the two could start fighting. "He's a friend of ours."

"And he loves to watch movies," Jimmy continued losing the stutter now that he had back up.

"I like movies," Tony commented taking a drink of milk and spilling some down his front. "I saw Willy Wonka with my nanny last weekend. I wanna place like that, 'cept the boat. I didn't like the boat part."

"Hey, I saw that movie," Ziva announced excitedly.

"Me too, but I didn't like the orange men. And the boat part _was_ scary," McGee said softly, picking at his food.

"I said I didn't like it, not that it was scary. I'm not scared of nothing."

"What about spiders?" Tim asked curiously.

"Nope, I squish spiders with my shoes."

"The dark?"

"I laugh at the dark."

"Thunder storms?"

"Are you scared of everything, McScardy?"

"N-No," McGee whispered glaring at his plate.

"Tony, don't you have a time out to finish," Gibb asked, noticing DiNozzo open his mouth to continue asking Tim questions.

"But Gibbs…"

"Now," Jethro responded pointing at the chair in the kitchen.

Grumbling to himself, Tony jumped down from his chair and stormed into the kitchen. Gibbs reset the kitchen timer to five minutes, giving him one extra minute for the jibe at McGee, and then returned to the others.

"Are you two done?" he asked Ziva and McGee. They nodded McGee's plate clean while Ziva's still held her crust. "Then put your plates in the sink and go play."

They jumped down from their chairs, taking their plates to the sink. Gibbs decided it was best if he dealt with their glasses, and collected them as Ziva and Tim wandered back into the living room. Ziva grabbed one of Kelly's old books, clambering onto the couch, and McGee followed her. They huddled together as Ziva opened the book, and began reading.

"You are so good with them," Abby commented as she removed four sandwiches from the bag she brought. Gibbs grunted in response as he carried the kids' milk glasses to the sink. He left Tony's plate on the table, expecting him to pick it up when the timer went off.

"I'm bored," DiNozzo complained the moment Gibbs stepped into the kitchen.

"Four more minutes," Gibbs replied as he headed back to the table.

"What'd he do?" Abby asked nodding towards Tony.

"He pushed a kid down at the park," Jethro responded as he unwrapped the sandwich Abby had bought him. BLT club, just the way he liked it.

"Tony would never do that," Abby gasped glancing at the little boy. Gibbs looked over his shoulder, noticing DiNozzo gently kicking the wall as he looked at the timer next to him.

"No, Abigail, adult Tony would never do that," Ducky pointed out slowly. "He may act like a twelve-year-old on occasion, but he does have restraints. At four, he doesn't have the same control, and will act on his emotions."

"Then what triggered it?" Abby asked after digesting Ducky's words.

"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me," Gibbs responded.

"Can I get up, now?" Tony called hopefully.

"Three more minutes," Gibbs informed him and the little boy clenched his fists.

The adults ate in silence for the next two minutes, the quiet broken by Tony saying, "How's about now?"

"You ask again, you're getting five more minutes," Gibbs warned him and DiNozzo's green eyes widened at the prospect of more time. He was quiet the last minute of time out. When the timer went off he looked at Gibbs expectantly.

"Are you going to be good?" Jethro questioned slowly.

"Yes," Tony replied nodding his head.

"Are you going to push anyone else down?"

"No," he said shaking his head.

"Then you can get up," Gibbs replied and Tony jumped off his chair and raced towards the living room. "No playing until after you put your plate in the sink!" Jethro called after him and he skidded to a halt.

"But Gibbs…"

"Anthony."

"Fine," Tony grumbled with a dramatic sigh and walked back to his plate. He picked it up, mumbling inaudibly to himself as he walked it to the sink and placed it with the others. He then stalked into the living room, kicking things out of his way as he walked towards the easy chair. He crawled into it, crossed his arms, and glared at the fire place, ignoring Tim when he asked if he were okay.

"I think he's mad at you, Gibbs" Abby whispered giving DiNozzo a worried look.

"He's just tired, Abbs," Jethro replied checking his watch. When Kelly had been that age, she usually had a nap around that time. Though, each kid was different, and it really mattered when their parents (or, in DiNozzo's case, nanny) put them down, Gibbs still had to get them on some type of schedule; especially if they were going to be stuck like that for a while.

He figured he'd finish eating lunch first, while the kids were preoccupied with their own thing, and then suggest a nap. He wasn't sure how well they were going to take it, especially Ziva and Tony, but it didn't hurt to at least try.

**NCIS**

After lunch, Abby, Ducky, and Palmer headed back to work, Abby promising to bring Jethro over after work. Gibbs wasn't sure he wanted a dog running around his house, but he figured it might make the kids happy. Besides, until McGee was back to normal, the German Shepard needed someone to take care of him.

Once the three adults said good-bye to the kids, only getting responses from Ziva and McGee (DiNozzo still sulking in the chair), Gibbs knew it was time to suggest a nap. He walked into the living room, McGee and Ziva looking up from their coloring book.

"Aren't you guys tired?" Gibbs questioned crouching down so he could look them in the eyes.

"Nope," Ziva responded before returning to her picture, absentmindedly rubbing at her eyes.

"I'm not sleepy, either," McGee replied around a yawn.

Gibbs smiled, shaking his head, knowing it was only a matter of time before they were out. "Alright, if you say so," he relented pushing himself to his feet. He moved towards Tony, who wouldn't look at him, and asked, "What about you, Tony?"

"I'm fine," he muttered uncrossing his arms and pulling his knees to his chest.

"Do you want to play with Ziva and Tim for a while?"

"I'm fine," DiNozzo repeated looking up at the ceiling.

"Okay," Gibbs responded pushing himself away from the little boy. He moved towards the kitchen, pouring himself the last of the coffee from that morning. It was cold, sure, but still a hell of a lot better than the crap they made in the naval yard's break room.

He grabbed his paper off the counter, having set it there that morning, and his glasses and took a seat at his table. He placed his glasses on his face and began reading the paper, listening to one of the kids hum as they worked on their coloring.

Steadily, Gibbs worked his way through the front page of his paper. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as McGee stood up and moved towards the couch, crawling onto it. He lay down, curling up on his side, closing his eyes.

Ziva worked at her drawing for a few more minutes before she, too, stood up and joined Tim on the couch, lying down at the other end. Both fell asleep fairly easily, and Gibbs was a little surprised neither needed a doll or a blanket to aid them.

It was down to Tony now. The brunette boy hadn't moved an inch in almost twenty-five minutes, but Gibbs knew he was still awake. His green eyes were locked on the fireplace again, glaring at it as if it had stolen his favorite toy.

"Tony, come here," Gibbs said softly after a few minutes.

"I don't wanna," he grumbled still sitting in his chair.

"Please."

DiNozzo sighed, but slid off the chair and trudged towards Gibbs. He stopped short of the table, shuffling his feet, making a point to not look Gibbs' way.

"Sit down," Gibbs said and waited until the little boy was sitting in the chair next to him. Jethro didn't say anything at first, instead taking the time to fold his paper up and remove his glasses. He set the spectacles on top of the page, looked at Tony, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," DiNozzo replied sniffing, eyes locking on the table.

"Are you upset because I put you in time out?" Gibbs asked, but DiNozzo didn't respond. "I had to, Tony. You pushed a kid down for no reason."

"I know," Tony responded quietly. The little boy looked up suddenly, his eyes wide, and blurted out, "Do you hate me?"

"What?"

"I-it's just my dad told me he h-hates when I'm bad. He says… he says every time I'm b-bad I make h-him look bad" the little boy looked close to tears. "P-please Gibbs, d-don't hate me."

"Hey, I don't hate you," Gibbs said softly stroking the back of Tony's hair. "I could never hate you."

"R-really?" Tony hiccupped, rubbing at his eyes.

"Yeah, really. Why don't you go play, okay?"

DiNozzo nodded, jumping down from his chair and walking back into the living room. Instead of playing, however, he crawled back into the easy chair and pulled his knees back to his chest.

Gibbs watched him for a while, his anger towards Senior creeping up on him. He knew Tony wasn't a bad kid, he most likely made some misguided decisions growing up (and a few when he was an adult), and Senior had no right to guilt his son into behaving. How did that justify good parenting?

It wasn't long after that Tony, too, succumbed to sleep. Gibbs pushed himself to his feet, his knees popping, and walked into the living room. He pulled the two blankets he used off the back of the couch, using one to cover Ziva and McGee and the other to cover Tony.

Gibbs wasn't sure how long it would take him to return his team to normal, but he knew until that happened he'd be the best dad he could be to each one. It was what each one deserved, even if they didn't remember when they became adults again.

**NCIS**

After a nap, Tony was back to his old (well, not old exactly but normal) self. He was poking McGee, teasing Ziva, and talking nonstop. It always fascinated Gibbs how kids could let little things go while adults usually blew them out of proportion.

Around four-thirty, while Gibbs was making dinner, Abby returned with Jethro the dog in toe. The moment she let the dog loose in Gibbs' house, he ran towards Tim. At first, both dog and boy were wary of each other, but the dog was smart enough to recognize his master's scent (even if he was several years younger) and licked the boy's face.

"Hey, he likes me," McGee said cheerfully and ran his fingers through the dog's fur. "What's his name?" he asked Abby, looking up at the Goth.

"Jethro," Abby replied glancing back at Gibbs.

"That's a stupid name," Tony commented staying as far away from the dog as possible. "His name should be Smelly Doggy."

"I picked out the name," Abby informed the small boy.

"I like it," McGee announced smiling. "Come on, Jethro," he said and walked towards the kitchen, the dog close on his heels. "Gibbs," he started stopping short of the older man, looking up at him, "can I get him some water?" The older man nodded, ready to step away from the stove to get a bowl, when he heard a familiar voice say:

"I'll get him a bowl." Abby rushed into the kitchen, waving at Gibbs to keep cooking. She started searching Gibbs' cabinets, finding a metal bowl above the sink. She pulled it down, placing the bowl in the sink, and gently picked McGee up.

"C means cold," the little boy said softly, turning the knob. The water started spilling from the spout, landing in the bowl.

"Yes it does," Abby responded slowly, smiling down at the little boy. When the bowl was overflowing, McGee turned the knob to off and tried to lift it. "Here, sweetie, let me get it. You keep Jethro company."

"Okay," the little boy agreed and Abby set him down.

"Gibbs," Tony said coming up behind the older man. "Can I go outside? I'm bored."

"Yes, Gibbs, it is boring in here," Ziva agreed as she approached Jethro (the human). Gibbs thought it over. It wasn't like they could go far, and his backyard was fenced in.

"Okay, but just until dinner is ready," he relented and Tony and Ziva started towards the door. "Put your jackets on," he said making both kids stop and trudge back into the living room. They put their jackets on, zipped them up, and finally both ran outside.

"Are you going to join them, Timmy?" Abby asked glancing down at the sandy haired boy.

"I wanna help, Gibbs," McGee replied and looked expectantly up at the older man.

"How's about we set the table?" Abby suggested and the small boy nodded. "Okay, let's get some plates."

The front door opened, and Gibbs left Abby and McGee to their task, walking towards whoever stopped by for a visit. He was expecting Ducky, maybe Palmer (though, he was fairly certain Palmer would only visit if he was with someone else), or, at the very least, Leon, but was surprised to see Fornell.

"Tobias, what are you doing here?"

"It's Thursday, Gibbs," Tobias replied holding up a pizza and a case of beer.

"Shit," Gibbs whispered completely forgetting. "Now's not really a good time, Tobias."

"Why, you got a girl over?"

"Hi Agent Fornell," Abby called from the kitchen and Fornell's eyes widened.

"It's not like…" Gibbs sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Come in." he stepped into the living room, Tobias close on his heels, stopping in the entryway of the kitchen. Fornell continued forward, walking past Abby but froze when he spotted McGee carrying a stack of plastic plates to the table.

"Oh, are you staying for dinner, too?" Tim asked looking up at Tobias. "If you are we're going to need another plate."

Speechless, Fornell turned to look at Gibbs, just as the back door opened. Tony came running inside, eyes wide, and said, "Gibbs, Ziva fell off the swing."

"What?"

"The tire swing; I was pushing her and she…" he grabbed Jethro's hand, "Come on." Gibbs took two seconds to turn the stove off before he allowed himself to be pulled outside, Tony letting his hand go the moment they crossed the threshold. He sprinted towards Ziva, hearing the others following him, and stopped short of the little girl.

She was sitting on the ground, looking down at her the hole in the knee of her kakis. She was trying hard not to cry, and Gibbs commended her for it, but it was a losing battle the moment he knelt down next to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked and she nodded before bursting into tears. Gibbs gathered her up in his arms, pushing himself to his feet and heading towards the house.

"Gibbs, is Ziva gonna die?" Tony asked chasing after the older man.

"Ziva's gonna die!" McGee balked looking close to tears.

"No, she's going to be fine," Gibbs reassured both boys. "Abbs." He turned to the Goth the moment they stepped into the house.

"C'mon boys," she said taking the hint. "Let's go clean up some of your toys. Maybe Uncle Tobias can help." Fornell gave Gibbs a helpless look before he followed the small group into the living room.

Jethro took Ziva up stairs, Jethro the German Shepard trailing behind them. She buried her face into his shoulder, sniffling, her tears soaking his shirt. "Hey, it's okay," he said softly, running his hand down her back. "You're going to be okay."

He opened the bathroom door. He closed his toilet lid, carefully lowering Ziva onto it, and moved towards the cabinet. "How's your knee?" he asked glancing down at the little girl.

"I-it's okay," she stammered rubbing at her eyes, taking in a deep, shuddering breath. Gibbs knew what she was doing; trying to be strong and pretend her knee wasn't hurting her. Gibbs took some Neosporin and a bandage from his medicine cabinet. He closed the cabinet, grabbed a washrag from small shelf behind the toilet, and wet it.

"Okay, let's check out your knee," he said kneeling down in front of the little girl. Jethro placed his head on Ziva's uninjured leg, looking up at her with his tongue lolling out. She smiled, running her fingers through his fur, a few stray tears clinging to her lashes.

Gibbs carefully lifter her pant leg, trying to cause her as little pain as possible just in case the material stuck to the wound. Once the bleeding cut was exposed, he began treating the wound. For a split second, he flashed back to when Kelly was six or seven and had fallen off her bike.

"_Will this make it better, Daddy?"_

"_Yeah, sweetie, it'll make it all better."_

"Gibbs," Ziva's tiny voice said cautiously. He shook his head once, to clear it, and slowly looked up at her. "My knee feels better," the little girl informed him, looking down at her newly bandaged knee.

"You sure?" he asked pushing himself to his feet.

"Yep, I can even bend it, see?" And she slowly moved it back and forth, only wincing once. She hopped off the toilet, wrapped her arms around his knees, and said, "Thank you, Gibbs."

"You're welcome," he responded patting her back.

She beamed at him before letting him go and racing out of the room, calling, "Come on, Jethro!" The dog gave Gibbs one final look, as if to say 'yeah, that's right, she meant me' before chasing after her.

**NCIS**

After Gibbs cleaned up his mess, he headed back down the stairs, noticing that his living room looked just as messy as it had when he carried Ziva up the stairs; a part of him wasn't surprised.

Fornell was waiting for him at the foot of the steps while Abby served the kids the pizza he had brought. The moment he was handed a piece, Tony began picking all the vegetables off, leaving them in a pile on his plate.

"She seems fine, now," Fornell said nodding towards Ziva.

"Yeah, I think the fall just scared her."

"So," Tobias started giving Gibbs an inquisitive look, "mind telling me what the hell's going on?"

"That's my team, Tobias," Gibbs replied gesturing towards the table. Tony had just picked up at mushroom and tossed it at Ziva. She retaliated by throwing a black olive at him, but hit Abby instead. She tried to scold them, but they didn't take her seriously and all three kids started throwing vegetables.

"Guys!" Gibbs shouted and the food stopped flying. They exchanged quick looks before returning to their dinner. Jethro the dog darted around the table, picking up any mushrooms or olives that may have fallen to the floor.

"I see that," Fornell said once Jethro looked back at him. "But how…?" he pointed at the table, his eyebrows raised in question.

"It's a long story, Tobias," Gibbs responded turning to walk into the living room. Fornell ran ahead of Gibbs, stopping him in his tracks.

"Simplify it, Jethro," he said glancing back at the kids again.

"Jethro?" Tony asked suddenly and they turned to see the three kids and Abby staring at them. "I thought you said your name was Leroy."

"You're named after a dog?" McGee's eyes widened at the thought.

"No, stupid, the dog would be named after him," Tony pointed out picking a stray green pepper off his pizza. "I doubt Jethro is as old as Gibbs."

"Don't call me stupid!" McGee shouted looking about ready to dive over the table and tackle Tony off his chair.

"Whatcha gonna do, McStupid?" Tony teased pushing himself up on his knees.

"Tony!" Gibbs shouted and the little boy sat back down fairly quickly.

"Can we talk about this later?" Jethro questioned turning back to Fornell. Even Tobias wasn't that big of an asshole to push Gibbs when he already had his hands full, so he nodded and allowed Jethro to step around him.

Gibbs walked towards the table, stopping behind McGee. The sandy haired boy had placed his arms on the table and buried his face in them. He refused to look up, even when Gibbs placed his hand on his back.

"What do you say to Tim," Jethro said looking Tony's way.

"It's not my fault he…"

"Tony," Gibbs said and gestured towards the timeout chair.

"Fine," the little boy grumbled, something flashing across his eyes that Gibbs almost didn't catch. DiNozzo drew in a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry, Timmy. You're not stupid."

Tim slowly lifted his head and asked, "Are you really sorry?"

"Yes, I am really sorry," Tony responded with a forced smile.

"Really, really sorry?" Ziva questioned pushing her plate away from her, pizza crust still sitting on the flat surface.

Tony sighed, "Yes, really, really sorry. You are not stupid, Tim."

"Okay Tony, I forgive you," Tim replied and returned to his pizza.

"Crisis averted," Abby commented as the two older men sat at the table. Gibbs couldn't help but agree with her, and it only took a little push from him to accomplish it. _Like any other day_, he thought with an internal chuckle.

**NCIS**

The kids went back outside to play after dinner, Tim and Tony dragging Abby with them. While they were preoccupied, Gibbs began cleaning up the dinner dishes.

"So, tell me what happened," Fornell said grabbing a towel to dry the dishes.

Jethro was quiet for a moment, tossing Ziva's crust on the floor for Tim' dog; Jethro scooped it up in his mouth and carried it into the living room, lying down on the floor to chew on it. He placed her plate in the sink, turning the faucet on and squirting soap on the sponge before wetting it. Finally, as he picked up one of the plates, he took a breath and softly said, "I guess I wished for it."

"Come again?"

He gave Fornell the unabridged version, starting with the explosion from yesterday. When he finished all the dinner dishes were clean and put away and Gibbs was leaning against the counter staring at Jethro.

"So, in other words, you screwed up?" Gibbs threw his friend a glare. "What," Fornell started raising his eyebrows, "you did. You wished for this or whatever, so it lies on you. Rule 45 and all."

"Don't throw my rules back at me," Jethro said slowly.

"I'm just saying this is _your _mess."

"You think I don't know that? You think I want my team that young? But I can't fix it if I can't find that stupid machine."

"So, basically they are stuck like that until you find it?"

"Basically."

"Where are you going to start?" Gibbs shrugged. He didn't even know what type of 'magic' or whatever granted the wish, how would he know where to start? "I could start looking for you," Tobias suggested softly. "Maybe we can find another one of these machines."

"I already asked Abby to check for me," Gibbs replied remembering the phone call to the Goth while the kids were taking their naps.

"Well, at least you have a plan," Fornell said and Gibbs laughed once.

"Not much of one," Gibbs muttered crossing his arms.

"Maybe this should be one of your rules. Rule Fifty-two: Be careful what you wish for. Or avoid Zoltar machines at a fair."

Gibbs didn't respond, instead pushing away from the counter and picking the empty pizza box up off the table. He carried it to the trash can and threw it away.

"What happens if they're stuck that way?" Fornell asked quietly, hitting on the one question Gibbs had tried not to think about. What happened if his team was stuck as four-year-olds? Would they age like any normal kid? Would Gibbs be able to hold a job and take care of them?

There was no way he would send Tony and Ziva back to their fathers, and he wasn't sure he could separate them from Tim. No matter how much Tony poked fun at him, Gibbs had a feeling the kid would put up a fight if he tried to send McGee back to his parents.

And how would he explain any of this to the McGees? How would he explain any of this to anyone? His best option was to find this Zoltar machine as quickly as possible, or any Zoltar machine for that matter, and turn his team back to normal before someone started asking questions.

"We'll cross that bridge if we have to, Tobias."


	5. Chapter 5

**Just a very quick, short update. And now I am totally caught up with the story, so updates may not be as quick but I promise to try to get a new chapter every week like I usually do.**

**So, thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favs last chapter. You guys are some of my favorite people :D**

**Anyway, I own nothing, drop a comment if you have time, and I should get going.**

**See ya**

**NCIS**

Bath time was a challenge. Tony wanted to take a bath by himself, Ziva didn't want to take a bath with the boys, and McGee wanted to take a bath with Jethro (after Abby insisted the dog stay at Gibbs' for as long as his owner was a kid). Finally, three disgruntled kids sat in the bathtub, soap up to their chests.

"Okay," Gibbs started grabbing a bottle of soap that Abby had bought. "Let's get you guys clean."

He put soap on three different washrags and handed them to each kid. He gave them some time to clean themselves, reminding them to get behind their ears and anywhere else they may have missed. Once clean, he grabbed the 'no tears' shampoo bottle from off the floor and turned to Tony.

"My hair's fine," the little boy grumbled.

"I saw Ziva dump dirt in it," Gibbs responded, remembering how he had the little girl sit in timeout afterwards. She hadn't said a word, but Gibbs could tell she liked it just as much as Tony.

"I don't want my hair washed. I'll get soap and water in my eyes," Tony argued crossing his arms.

"No you won't," Gibbs said washing the soap out of his washrag. "Not if you cover your eyes." He handed the brunette the rag, and continued, "With your eyes covered, you'll be fine."

"If you're sure," Tony responded skeptically, but covered his eyes with the rag as Gibbs filled a cup with lukewarm water and poured it over his head. He made a show of sputtering, but was surprised that the washrag had worked. "It worked!"

"Yes it did," Gibbs replied as he turned to Ziva and McGee. Both allowed him to pour water on their heads, though McGee looked like he wanted to bolt.

"It's okay," Gibbs said softly to the sandy haired boy as reached for the shampoo. "You're almost done." Tim nodded, though he had started to shiver slightly.

It took a few more moments to get their hair cleaned, but soon Gibbs was helping each one out and wrapping them in a towel. He would have given them time to play, but McGee was practically shaking now and Tony and Ziva were starting to splash; maybe the next bath time.

"Okay, let's go see what kind of PJs Abby bought," Gibbs suggested as he lead his team out of the bathroom and down the stairs.

"Gibbs," Tony called walking a few inches behind Gibbs, "why doesn't Ziva have a penis like Tim and me?"

Gibbs nearly froze mid-step, but forced himself to keep going. He didn't know what was worse: the fact that Tony knew the word 'penis' or the fact that he asked at all. It also didn't help matters when he glanced over his shoulder and noticed the looks of curiosity on McGee's and Ziva's faces.

"Girls are different than boys," Jethro started trying to push his awkwardness aside. He dealt with dirt bags on a daily basis; this should be a cake walk. "And that means that boys have penises and girls don't," the older man finished lamely as his descended the stairs and walked into the living room.

"But then what do girls have?" Ziva questioned. Gibbs busied himself with the bags of clothes Abby had bought, looking for pajamas for the kids to wear.

"Hello, Jethro," a cheery voice called at that moment, and Ducky walked around the corner.

"Ask Ducky," Gibbs responded and returned to his task.

"Ask Ducky what exactly?" the older man asked raising an eyebrow.

"If boys have penises what do girls have?" McGee questioned between chattering teeth, looking up at the season ME.

Ducky coughed, gave Gibbs an uncomfortable look, and said, "Well, um, girls…" Ducky turned to Gibbs, "Jethro."

"You are the most qualified to tell them, Duck," Gibbs responded finally finding something for the kids to wear. He made sure McGee was dressed first, the poor kid trying to burrow deeper into the towel.

Once the kids were all dressed, they crowded around Ducky and asked their question again. He sighed and said, "Perhaps when you are older I will tell you."

"But Ducky," Tony and Ziva protested while McGee said, "Why can't we know now?"

"Because it's bed time," Gibbs responded checking his watch. Eight-thirty seemed like an appropriate time for his team to go to bed.

"I'm not tired," Tony informed the older man crossing his arms.

"Nor am I," Ziva replied with a stubborn look on her face.

"Or me," McGee finished around a giant yawn.

"Will you go to bed if I tell you a story?" Ducky suggested crossing the room to sit in Gibbs' easy chair. The kids shared a quick, eager look before nodding and following Ducky, all three sitting on the floor in front of him.

"Okay," Ducky started thinking a moment. He drew in a deep breath and continued, "I shall tell you about the time my friend Dennis and I tried to ride our bikes around the world."

"Mommy says there's lots of water surrounding the world," McGee started looking up at Ducky. "You can't ride your bike around the world."

"Exactly, but at the time we didn't know that," Ducky replied nodding McGee's way. "So, it was Dennis who came up with the idea. He says to me 'Ducky, we should ride our bikes around the world. We shall see the sights and return to tell our tales.'

"Well, at first I was reluctant. I didn't want to leave mother by herself, not while father was away, but the prospect of riding around the world changed my mind. So, Dennis and I jumped on our bikes and began riding."

"What happened?" Tony asked leaning forward, eager for more.

"Dennis and I barely made it half a block before he was called home for dinner. We made plans to finish our journey the next day."

"How far did you get the next day?" Ziva questioned curiously.

As Ducky continued his story, Gibbs silently excused himself from the living room and climbed the stairs. He made sure one of the guest beds were ready, quickly collecting the clothing his team left behind when they changed. He also collected their cell phones and the boys' wallets, intending to keep them someplace safe for when they would need them again.

When he returned to the living room ten minutes later, he found all three kids huddled together, listening to the end of Ducky's story. Or maybe it was the end to another, Gibbs wasn't sure, but whatever they were listening to had all three half asleep.

"And that is when I…" Ducky trailed off when he noticed Gibbs standing in the entryway. "Oh, Jethro, there you are. You missed one of my better stories."

"I'll be sure to catch it the next time around," Gibbs responded moving towards the kids. He figured the best way to move each kid was to start with the most asleep. So, he stopped in front of Tony first. He had insisted he wasn't tired, but it seemed he had been the first to drop off.

"Would you like some help?" Ducky questioned coming up behind Gibbs.

"You can grab Ziva," Jethro responded as he carefully gathered DiNozzo into his arms and slowly carried him up the steps. He heard Ducky do the same with Ziva, and soon both men were gently laying both kids into the big bed in Gibbs and Shannon's old room.

While Ducky fussed with their blankets, Gibbs walked downstairs to get Tim. The sandy haired boy was fighting to stay awake, but it was a losing battle. His head was leaning against the couch, half-closed eyes looking around the room.

"Who are those girls?" he asked as Gibbs lifted him off the ground. Jethro followed his finger, noticing an old photo of Shannon and Kelly sitting on the mantle.

"That's my wife and daughter," Gibbs responded as he carried Tim up the stairs.

"Where are they now?"

"They, uh, they died a long time ago."

"Do you miss them?"

"Every day," Gibbs admitted quietly. McGee didn't say another word, but the small hug he gave him made Jethro smile.

Gibbs stepped into the room, smirking when he noticed Jethro laying at the foot of the bed. He shook his head, sticking McGee next to Ziva, and double checked that they were all covered before he and Ducky stepped out of the room.

"What are you going to tell them when they ask where their parents are tomorrow?" the older man asked as both men walked down the stairs.

"I don't know," Jethro responded as he began cleaning up his living room. He placed clothes in their bags until he could find somewhere to stick them, tossed toys in an empty laundry basket he found on his wash machine, and stacked drawings into a haphazard pile on his table.

"I am sure you'll think of something," Ducky commented and Gibbs nodded, glancing at the mantle. He couldn't remember when he put that picture up there; it had to be around the time he returned from his extended 'vacation.' He thought about what Shannon would have said in this situation:

'_I'm sure their parents wouldn't mind us as a substitute, Gibbs.'_

And Kelly would have just been excited to have brothers and a sister, even if it was temporary. Jethro recalled Kelly asking for a little brother one Christmas when she was five:

'_I don't want toys this year, Daddy.'_

'_Then what do you want, Bug?"_

'_Well, usually I ask for you, but you're here this year. So, instead, I want something different.'_

'_Okay, I'll bite, what do you want?'_

'_I want a brother.'_

**NCIS**

"Wake him up," a small, familiar voice whispered.

"No, you wake him up," a second, familiar voice responded, a tad louder than the first.

"Why do _we_ have to wake him up?" a third, much higher, familiar voice questioned.

"Because I am older," the second voice retorted.

"Says who?" the third voice argued.

"Says me."

"Guys," the first voice whispered, but neither heard him, and Gibbs was starting to wonder just why these voices sounded so familiar.

He peeled his eyes open, catching sight of three little kids crowded around him, and the past two days came back. Of course, how could he forget, his team were several years too young.

"I think you are full of it," Ziva said standing on her tiptoe to become taller than Tony.

"Full of what, Zee-vah?"

"That is _not_ how you pronounce my name, To-nee."

"Guys," McGee whispered again, his bright green eyes locking on Gibbs' blue ones.

"_Déjà vu_," Gibbs muttered and both Ziva and Tony jumped, their eyes widening as they looked at him. "What's going on, guys?"

Ziva looked to Tony, who pulled himself to his full four-foot-something height and said, "You said our parents would be here today, but I don't see them anywhere and the sun is out. Where are they Gibbs?"

"Guys," Gibbs started softly, pushing himself up.

"They left us here, didn't they?" McGee questioned in a small voice, looking down at his feet, blinking fast to keep from crying.

"Why would they do that?" Ziva asked, furrowing her eyebrows, looking as if she wanted to cry, too.

Tony didn't say anything at first, but after a few moments he muttered, "Why do they always do this to me?"

Gibbs looked at each kid. Tim had tears spilling from his eyes, Ziva was still trying hard not to cry, and Tony was glaring at the wall, grumbling under his breath. Jethro knew he had to do something quick before he had three sobbing children standing in front of him.

"Okay," he said softly, and all three looked at him. He didn't want to lie to them again, but he still couldn't tell them the truth, either. "I got a call from them last night," he continued looking at each kid in turn, again. "They had to go away for the week, and asked me to keep an eye on you."

"So, t-they're coming b-back?" Tim asked hopefully, a few stray tears still falling from his eyes.

"Yes, they'll be back," Jethro reassured all three kids and both Tim and Ziva looked a bit happier. Tony, on the other hand, nodded silently and walked over to the easy chair to sit down. Gibbs may have averted a crisis between Ziva and McGee, but he had a feeling Tony was going to be another story entirely.


	6. Chapter 6

**This is very short, but it is leading up to more problems for Gibbs. And possibly a meltdown, I haven't decided yet. So, I am fairly certain (90%) that the next chapter is going to be longer.**

**So, thanks for reviewing, alerting, and favoriting last chapter. Cyber Fives to everyone :D)  
><strong>

**Thanks for reading, drop a comment if you want, and I own nothing.**

**SEE YA!**

**NCIS**

Breakfast was almost completely silent. McGee was still sniffling and hiccupping, but both he and Ziva managed to eat their breakfast. Tony, on the other hand, picked at his food and glared at the table. Gibbs had a feeling he'd have to have a talk with the small boy sometime soon.

Until then, he started making a list. He knew he needed to get to a grocery store and buy some child appropriate snacks and drinks (he was fairly certain corn nuts and beer were not something a kid generally ate). Once his list was complete, and he figured the kids were about done eating, he had all three put their plates in the sink and then go get dressed.

He began cleaning the breakfast dishes-emptying milk into the sink and scraping food into the trash-when he felt a little hand tug on his pant leg.

"Yeah," he said turning to look down at Ziva.

"Can you put my hair in a pony?" she asked holding up a tiny brush and a hair tie. Gibbs wondered just how much stuff Abby had bought yesterday.

"Okay," he responded softly, turning the water off and drying his hands. He had only done one ponytail, over twenty years ago, and it hadn't come out exactly right. If he recalled correctly, Kelly had had gone to her mother several minutes later and asked her to fix it. He figured he could always have Abby fix Ziva's hair later if he screwed up too badly.

He sat down at the table, having Ziva stand in front of him, and began brushing her hair. It was then that he realized he probably should have brushed out her hair after her bath last night. The frizzy mess was full of tangles and rat's nests and every time the brush caught one Ziva would flinch and trying hard not to cry out in pain.

"Hey Gibbs," a small voice called from over by the couch.

"Yeah Tim," Jethro called back barely looking up from his task.

"What's d-tang-ler for?" McGee asked sounding out the word. Gibbs furrowed his eyebrows, again wondering just what in the hell Abby didn't buy, and said, "Bring it to me will ya."

"Kay." McGee wandered over to the table a few seconds later, his shoes untied, carrying a white spray bottle. He handed it over and repeated, "What's d-tang-ler for?"

"It's to get snarls out of people's hair," Gibbs replied softly.

"I do not have snarls," Ziva protested as Jethro sprayed one of her tangles with detangler. Gibbs sighed, but didn't respond to the little girl. He just concentrated on brushing her hair out as gently as possible; using the detangler more than he thought he would, until finally he could run the brush through her, now snarl free, hair.

It took another few minutes, but finally Ziva's hair was in a lopsided ponytail. It was the best Gibbs could do, and she didn't seem to mind as she ran back into the living room to put her shoes on. As Jethro stood and collect the brush and detangler, he spotted McGee still standing next to him.

"Yes."

"I can't…" the little boy held up his foot, showing his untied shoes. Gibbs remembered yesterday, they had been in a hurry so he had tied all three kids' shoes before rushing them out of the house to get to the naval yard. And since he hadn't heard any of the kids ask him to tie their shoes if they came untied. He broke his own rule about assumptions when he thought all three had a basic understanding of shoe tying. It seemed like McGee hadn't quite figured it out yet.

"You want me to tie your shoes?" Gibbs asked and the small boy nodded. "Okay, but pay attention. I'm going to show you how to do it." Gibbs knelt down next to McGee, made sure the little boy was watching him, and slowly tied his shoes using bunny ears.

"You wanna try?"

"Okay," McGee replied kneeling down. He took the laces in his hand and proceeded to try and tie his other shoe. He tried several times, but he just couldn't get his fingers to cooperate, and Gibbs could see the start of frustrated tears in his eyes.

"Hey, don't worry," Jethro said catching the smaller boy's eyes. "You'll get it." And he quickly tied the kid's shoes and stood up. He smiled down at Tim and then led him over to the couch where Ziva was struggling to tie her own shoes. She managed to get it on the third try, but it made Tim a little happier to see he wasn't the only one who struggled.

"Okay, guys," Gibbs started and the three kids looked his way. "We're going to run a few errands today."

"So, we're coming with you this time?" Tony asked quietly. It was the first words Tony had spoken since Jethro lied to them, and Gibbs was hoping this was the start of his mood getting a little better; at least for a while.

"Yes, I need help at the grocery store," Jethro replied looking between the three kids.

"We get to help you?" Ziva inquired sliding off the couch.

"Yes."

"So, we get to pick out our favorite cereal?" McGee questioned furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yeah."

"And can we get cookies?" Ziva asked excitedly.

"I'm not allowed cookies until after dinner," McGee informed the group. "Mommy said they are a dessert and I can only have one if I eat my veg'tables."

"We'll talk about the cookies," Jethro responded with a small smile on his face. "Okay, just let me put Jethro out and we'll go," Gibbs said looking down at the dog. He had been lying on the floor, watching McGee closely. "And Tony, put your shoes on."

Gibbs ushered the dog outback, letting the German Shepard have free reign of his backyard, and returned to the kids. McGee and Ziva were standing by the door, their jackets on, waiting eagerly, while Tony hadn't moved from the easy chair, his shoes still sitting on the floor, untouched.

"Didn't you hear me, Tony?" Gibbs asked softly. "I said 'put your shoes on.'"

"I don't wanna," DiNozzo responded not even looking Gibbs' way. Jethro knew the smaller boy wasn't mad at him. If he wasn't mistaken-and he'd have to ask Ducky to be one-hundred percent accurate-Tony was angry at his parents for leaving him behind again. It seemed like his entire life revolved around nannies from an early age, and now didn't seem any different.

"Look, Tony, please put your shoes on," Gibbs tried reasoning with his SFA. Had it been any other day, and Tony was his actual age, the younger guy would have listened. But reasoning with a four-year-old was nowhere near the same thing. In fact, it was almost like reasoning with a cat.

"I hate those stupid shoes. I don't wanna wear them," the little boy said stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Gibbs recalled reading somewhere that arguing with kids was only going to tire parents out. So, he took in a deep breath and said, nice and slowly, "You either put your shoes on, or I am going to stick you in the timeout chair for 30 minutes."

Boy and man stared at each other, neither of their wills breaking. Jethro Gibbs had stared down gunmen, terrorists, thieves, soldiers, and criminals of all sorts. This was a four-year-old, he could wait him out.

"Please Tony," a small voice said and McGee appeared at DiNozzo's side. "Please put your shoes on. We can get Lucky Charms if you do. Please."

"Yeah, and do you really wanna sit in the stinky timeout chair, again?" Ziva questioned moving to stand next to Tim. "It's boring."

The brunette was conflicted for a moment, but he finally sighed and said, "Fine, I'll put my shoes on." Tony jumped down from the easy chair, pulled his still tied shoes onto his feet, and started towards the door.

Gibbs ran his hands down his face, not sure what had just happened. Did two four-year-olds just convince another four-year-old to do something he couldn't get him to do? Yes, yes they did.

"Huh," Gibbs muttered.

He joined the kids at the door seconds later, made sure each one had their jackets on, and opened it. As they walked out, Tony lagging behind the other two, Gibbs made a mental note to move that talk up to when they got home.


	7. Chapter 7

Tony's mood didn't improve when they arrived at the grocery store. In fact, it seemed to have darkened drastically from the car ride to getting a cart. He trudged behind Gibbs as the older man walked down the aisles. Ziva and McGee clung to the tail end of the cart, standing side by side, occasionally giving suggestions as to what he should buy. DiNozzo had yet to open his mouth, and would give noncommittal head twitches if Gibbs asked him if he wanted something.

About forty-five minutes later, Jethro had a cart full of items, and was on his way to check out. He had been expecting Tony to cause a scene, recalling how some small children in bad moods would throw fits, and was actually glad he had managed to avoid that when he noticed the small brunette standing close to a shelf full of can goods.

"Did we miss something, Tony?" Gibbs asked curiously, wondering if his SFA wanted a can of Spaghetti Os or something.

Instead of answering, Tony placed his hand on a can full of Ravioli and pushed it onto the ground. It hit the tile with an audible _smack_ and rolled down the aisle.

"Tony, pick that up," Gibbs scolded stalking towards the brunette. The small boy ducked under his arm and ran towards the cart. On the way, he knocked several more cans of food onto the ground. He then wrapped his hands around the cart, and tried to push it away from Gibbs.

The small boy managed a few inches before he gave up, breathing heavily, and returned to knocking cans goods off the shelves.

"Tony stop it," McGee shouted moving to stand next to the slightly taller boy. "You are being bad." DiNozzo turned, pushed McGee down, and continued his task.

"Knock it off," Gibbs snapped scooping the brunette off the ground. He kicked his legs, trying to get Gibbs to put him down, but the older man ignored him as he carried him to the cart. He deposited DiNozzo into the front portion, and turned to see Ziva helping Tim off the ground.

"It is okay, Timmy," she said dusting him off. Silent tears fell down McGee's face, and he tried to move away from Ziva, but she continued to try and console him. "He did not mean it."

"Why did you do that?" Gibbs asked turning back to Tony. The small brunette didn't respond. Instead he pulled his knees up to his chin, and buried his face into his thighs. "Tony," Gibbs tried again, but he started humming loudly.

"What's going on?" a store employee asked.

Gibbs turned to see a pudgy, dark haired man, and said, "My…" he trailed off, not sure what to call his team. "There was an accident. I'm sorry."

The employee looked around at the downed cans, looking relieved. It was as if the guy had pictured something worse happening. Maybe milk puddles all over the floor, or perhaps the produce getting thrown at the walls. A couple dented cans were no problem compared to those things.

"I can help clean…"

"No, it's okay," the employee interrupted Gibbs. "I've got it."

Gibbs nodded before looking down at Ziva and McGee. The former looked up at Gibbs and said, "He will not stop crying, Gibbs. I think he is hurt."

"Tim, are you okay?" Gibbs asked hoping he didn't hurt himself when Tony pushed him. The small boy nodded, sniffling, more tears falling down his face. Jethro turned back to Tony and repeated his question from early, "Why did you do that?"

Still the brunette wouldn't respond, his humming turning into full blown singing. "_Speed of lightening. Roar of thunder. Fighting all who rob or plunder…'_

"Tony, answer me," Gibbs spoke over the smaller boys singing.

"'_Underdog! Underdog!'"_

"Anthony DiNozzo, if you don't answer me this instant you are going to your room when we get home!" Gibbs shouted loud enough that his voice echoed through the store and Tony's singing cut off.

Gibbs waited for an answer, but the only thing his yelling accomplished was more tears. Now he had two crying kids on his hand, and several disapproving looks. He looked down at Ziva, and was fairly certain she shrugged, but that could have been his imagination.

He had to get out of the store before something worse happened. He calmly pushed his cart towards the checkout counter, paid for his items, and left the grocery store as quickly as he could with two sobbing children and a third saying, "Gibbs, maybe you should not have yelled."

**NCIS**

McGee calmed down on their way home, but it seemed DiNozzo's tears weren't giving up anytime soon. Gibbs regretted yelling at the small brunette, and he knew he should apologize, but Tony also had to realize he shouldn't act like that at anytime.

When Gibbs pulled into the driveway, he put his car into park and turned the engine off. He slowly got out of the car, pushing his seat forward to let the kids out of the back.

The moment Tony's feet touched the ground he stalked away from Gibbs and headed towards the front door. Jethro watched him go for a few seconds before moving to the trunk. He unlocked it and began unloading groceries.

"Can I help?" Ziva asked curiously peeking into the trunk.

"M-me, too, Gibbs," McGee hiccupped.

Jethro nodded and handed each kid two light bags. They carried their burden towards the front door, and Gibbs collected a few more bags before following the two kids.

It took a few trips, but Gibbs managed to get the trunk emptied out. He put anything cold away, left the rest on the table, and decided to tackle Tony's problems before doing anything else. He made sure McGee was alright first, finding only a small bruise on his arm but otherwise no other injuries.

He made sure Tim and Ziva were coloring before he sought out Tony. He found the small brunette lying in one of the guest rooms, his head buried under a pillow, his small shoulders shaking. Gibbs quietly crossed the room, sitting down next to Tony, resting his hand on the brunette's back.

"Tony?" he said softly.

The small boy rolled away from Gibbs' hand, his back now to the older man, and pulled his knees to his chest.

"Hey…"

"A-are you here t-to punish me?"

"I just want to talk to you," Jethro replied gently.

"A-about what?"

"About why you are so upset. Is it because your parents aren't here?"

Tony sniffled, rubbing his eyes with his left hand, and mumbled, "T-they always leave me alone."

"And you don't like that?"

DiNozzo shook his head, sniffling again. His shoulders continued to shake, and Gibbs was certain more tears had fallen down his face.

"Well, I won't leave you alone," Gibbs said softly. "You, McGee, and Ziva are…" what were they exactly? His team, his friends, his family; they were three of the most important people in his life. "…are very important to me. Okay?"

"Really?" DiNozzo asked in a small voice, pushing himself up to look at Gibbs'. His eyes were red and puffy, a few stray tears clinging to his lashes. "Do ya mean it?"

"I mean it. Okay, but you can't act like you did in the store."

"I'm sorry," Tony muttered looking down at the bed.

"And I'm sorry I yelled at you," Gibbs replied giving the small boy a smile. "You also should apologize to Tim."

"Okay," Tony replied softly.

"Whenever you're ready you can come back down."

"Thank you, Gibbs," DiNozzo murmured giving the older man a quick hug. Jethro returned the hug after a few seconds of hesitation, a smile on his face.

**NCIS**

DiNozzo's mood had lightened considerably by the time Gibbs made the kids lunch. He had apologized to McGee, and Ziva had made Tony promise to never push McGee again. He agreed readily, but Jethro had a feeling it was to get Ziva off his back. It was freaky just how smart each kid was, and how good their instincts were.

"Gibbs, Abby's here," Tony called from the living room, the front door opening.

"Thanks," Jethro called back just as Abby came into the kitchen.

"I brought soup today," she announced sitting a paper bag down, onto the counter. "The café had a special on broccoli soup, but I know how much you don't like that, so I got you vegetable. I hope you don't mind."

"Abbs, you don't have to keep bringing me lunch," Gibbs said cutting the crust off Ziva's sandwich.

"I know, but I've missed the kids so much," she responded over her shoulder as she walked back into the living room to give each one a big hug. Gibbs smirked, shaking his head.

He finished up the kids' lunches: PB and J sandwiches again with applesauce and juice boxes. He called the kids to come and eat, all three plus Abby taking a seat at the table.

Gibbs severed his team their lunches before digging into the bag Abby had brought. He handed Abby her soup (tomato soup mixed with chicken and stars; Gibbs would never fully understand her), and then grabbed his and two spoons, sitting down next to McGee.

"So, how was your day?" Abby asked looking at each kid, smiling.

"Ziva made me promise never to push Tim down," Tony replied taking a drink of juice.

"It is only fair. Tim did nothing to him, he did not deserve to be pushed," Ziva defended her decision, giving Tony a small glare.

"I said I was sorry," he replied softly, placing his juice box on the table again. "And Tim forgave me."

"It's alright, Ziva," McGee responded giving her a small smile.

"Why did you push Timmy down, Tony?" Abby questioned giving Tony a curious look, her eyebrow creasing slightly in worry.

"I was mad," he answered shrugging, digging his spoon into his bowl of apple sauce.

"We've talked about it, Abbs," Gibbs informed the Goth. He could tell she wanted to say something else, but she let it go and changed the subject. "So, I found one of those machines."

"What machine?" Tony asked curiously.

"I told the owner it was needed in an investigation, and that they would get their machine back when we are done with it."

"Did you get any information on the circus?"

"There's a circus?" Tony and Ziva said together, and all three kids perked up.

"It's not here anymore," Abby informed the kids, and each one disappointedly went back to their lunch. Abby turned back to Gibbs and continued, "I didn't, but Fornell did some digging. The place came back clean. Other than a couple tickets for speeding, the owners have no reason to lie about not having a Zoltar machine. Sorry Gibbs.

"But, we won't give up. The one I'm having shipped could do the trick. And I managed to track down another, but I'm having a hard time convincing the owner to ship it to me."

"Keep trying, Abbs," Gibbs said giving her a small smile. She smiled back, returning to her soup.

"Are you going to tell us what you are talking about?" Ziva questioned curiously.

"Nope," Gibbs replied and the small girl's face scrunched up in frustration.

"Ziva," Abby said suddenly. "Who did your hair?"

"Gibbs," the small girl responded.

"Gibbs, you did…?" Abby burst out laughing, covering her face with her hands.

"What, it's not _that_ bad," Jethro defended himself.

"Not that…?" Abby shook her head. She lowered her hands, turned to Ziva, and said, "When we're done with lunch, I'll fix your hair, okay?"

"Can you do it in braids like yours?"

"I would love to."

**NCIS**

After lunch, the boys went outside to play with Jethro while Abby took Ziva into the living room to fix her hair. Gibbs didn't see what needed fixing; Ziva's hair looked fine to him.

He checked out the back door to make sure the boys were still in the backyard, and then began doing the dishes. He finished them fairly quickly, checked on the boys one more time, peeked into the living room to see Abby putting braided pigtails into Ziva's hair with practiced hands, and then headed down to the basement.

He had been working on Amira's birthday present and wanted to put the finishing touches on it. While he worked on the small rocking chair, he wondered if Ziva would want to spend time with Amira. It had to beat playing with the boys all day, but then he'd have to let Leyla in on the secret or lie to her. And since he made a promise to himself to _never_ lie to Leyla, he'd have to tell her the truth. He sighed, not quite rejecting the idea, but not really agreeing to it either.

Instead, he concentrated on his task at hand. He sanded the left glider of the chair, tested it, sanded a little more, tested it, and finally put the sander down when he was satisfied.

He was calculating his chances of getting one coat of wood stain on before one of the kids called him when he heard Abby's panicked voice yell, "Gibbs, there's something wrong with McGee."

**NCIS**

**Thanks a bunch for your reviews, alerts, and favorites last chapter. You guys are awesome.**

**Some of you asked for more on Ziva, and I will get to that in upcoming chapters. And thanks to whoever pointed out I had little Tony call McGee 'McGee.' I didn't catch that the first time around, but it is now fixed.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this, and I own nothing.**

**SEE YA!**


	8. Chapter 8

At the sound of Abby's cry, Gibbs sprinted up the steps, two at a time, and burst through the basement door. He heard Tony yelling from outside and flashed back to when Ziva had fallen off the tire swing. Were the boys swinging on that old thing? Had the rope broken? Did McGee break something?

Gibbs rushed past Abby and Ziva, both girls several steps behind him, and tore the backdoor open. Worst case scenarios kept flashing through his head and his cell phone was already in his hand to call…

Who could he call? He couldn't call for an ambulance. According to Timothy McGee's records, he was in his early thirties. Not a four-year-old kid. And even if Abby could doctor his records, he knew she wasn't fast enough to have them ready in time.

Ducky. He'd have to call Ducky. He was the most logical choice, and he could determine where to go from there. But first, Gibbs had to find out what had happened.

"Tim! Tony!" Gibbs called scanning the yard, looking for any sign of either boy.

"Over here," Tony called back and Gibbs located the small brunette, pointing into one of the trees. Jethro followed the small boy's finger, his eyes widening at the sight.

Gibbs raced forward, hearing Abby's intake of breath behind him, and skidded to a halt underneath the tree. Tim was clinging to one of the branches, a few feet off the ground, visibly shaking, his eyes squeezed shut.

"How'd he get stuck up there?" Gibbs asked glancing down at Tony.

"We were playing hide and seek," Tony replied meeting Jethro's eyes. "And Timmy decided to hide in the tree." He pointed above him again. "It was a good hiding place, too, until he started screaming."

"G-Gibbs," McGee called, peeling his eyes open for a second, before slamming them shut again.

"Yeah, it's me Tim," Jethro replied looking up at his agent. "Can you climb down?" The small boy shook his head violently, nearly losing his grip on the tree branch. He screamed, clinging tighter to it. "Okay, I'm coming up."

"Don't fall, Gibbs," Tony advised the older man, and Gibbs almost threw the small boy a look, but stopped himself. This wasn't the older DiNozzo; Tony didn't know he was stating the obvious. Just like Ziva didn't at the grocery store.

"Thanks Tony," Jethro mumbled before grabbing a low hanging branch and hoisting himself into the tree.

He climbed up to McGee, keeping one hand wrapped around a branch at all times. That was all he needed, to fall out of the tree and risk knocking Tim down with him.

"Hey, Tim," he said softly, causing the little boy to jump, his tiny hands slipping from the tree branch. "Hey, it's okay." Gibbs reached out, wrapping his free arm around the small boy. "Just let go, I'll get you down."

"N-no," the little boy replied.

"I've got you," Gibbs said softly.

"I-I'll f-f-fall…"

"No, you won't. I promise," Gibbs responded bracing himself before letting go of the branch, and wrapping his other arm around McGee. "Just let go, okay? Please, Tim."

The little boy cracked his eyes open, caught Gibbs' gaze, and gulped, nodding. He slowly let the branch go, and Gibbs gathered Tim into his arms. McGee clung to him like a scared cat, and Jethro kept a tight grip on the shaking child as he carefully climbed down from the tree.

When he stepped onto the last branch, he felt his foot slip, and before he could grab anything he was falling. The only thing he could do was tightened his hold on McGee, and make sure he avoided landing on his agent.

Gibbs' back slammed into the ground, the air knocked out of his lungs. When he was able to breathe again, he looked at McGee and wheezed out, "A-are you okay?"

The little boy looked up, met Gibbs' eyes, and promptly burst into tears.

**NCIS**

"Are you sure you're okay?" Abby asked in a whisper, staying three steps behind Gibbs as he covered the three sleeping kids with a blanket.

It hadn't taken much to get the boys to go to sleep, crying one sure fire way to knock someone out. And neither Tony nor Ziva wanted leave Tim alone, so all three kids had piled onto the couch, each one passing out within moments of each other.

"I'm fine, Abbs," Jethro responded quietly, turning to look at her and taking a step back so he didn't knock her over.

"I could call Ducky."

"Abby, it was two feet. I'm fine." He really was fine, she didn't have to worry. In his fifty-some years, he had experienced broken bones, internal bleeding, and pretty much any injury someone could think of; he knew what they felt like, and he wasn't experiencing anything remotely close to those injuries. Worst case, he had a few bruises.

"But Gibbs…"

"Abby…" he started evenly.

"…you're fine," she finished slowly.

"Yeah." He nodded, smiling.

Abby was quiet for a moment, taking her phone from her pocket to check the time. "I should get back to work," she said nodding towards the door. "But call me if your back spasms or if you feel sever pain. Or if…"

"I'm fine, Abbs," Gibbs repeated kissing her forehead. "Now go."

"I'll be back later." And she was gone, closing the door behind her.

Gibbs glanced down at Jethro, the dog flashing him a look from his position on the floor. "I'm fine," Gibbs informed the dog. The German Shepard just snorted and closed his eyes.

**NCIS**

Gibbs managed to check his back during the kids' nap, and found an array of bruises, but nothing that suggested he was hurt any worse. As he suspected, he was fine. After checking himself over, he called Fornell to check on his progress.

He had managed to find another one of the machines, but he couldn't get it delivered until Monday. That meant an entire weekend with the kids, barring Abby's machine didn't work. It was then that Gibbs realized he hadn't asked Abby when hers was arriving.

He made a mental note to ask her, hearing light footsteps crossing the floor. He ended the call with Fornell, turning to see Ziva standing in the archway between the living room and the kitchen.

Her hair was messy from sleep, but she still had her pigtails. For a split second, she reminded him of another little girl in pigtails. A little blue eyed girl that'd ask him questions about his wood working.

"Hey," he said looking down at her.

"Hi," she replied softly, smiling at him.

"What's up?"

"I just wanted to thank you," she said shuffling her sneakers. "For not letting Timmy die; I did not want him to die."

"I wouldn't have let him fall," Gibbs reassured her, giving him a small smile.

Ziva nodded, her pigtails brushing her shoulders. She then leaned her head against the wall, studying the older man. He wondered what she saw. Was she comparing him to her father? Or did she see something completely different?

Gibbs had met Eli David, he knew what the man was capable of, but he had to of acted differently when Ziva and her siblings were children. Or was it just Ziva and Tali he acted differently to. Gibbs may hate Ari with every moral fiber he could muster, but sometimes he wondered just how much Eli screwed up his only son.

Ziva got lucky; she joined Gibbs' team at a young age. She found a small family with his team. She made her mistakes, sure, but she learned from them. She even quit Mossad, virtually choosing Gibbs over her father. But that happened to older Ziva.

Jethro wasn't looking at his agent. He was looking down at a four-year-old girl. A girl he knew nothing about. Before he could stop himself, he asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up, Ziva?"

Without hesitating, Ziva said, "A dancer."

Gibbs recalled a time when Kelly had said the same thing. She and Maddy used to pretend to be princesses and prance around the backyard. "_Come dance with me, Daddy!"_

"Do you like to dance?" Gibbs questioned curiously, moving forward. He crouched down in front of Ziva, meeting her dark eyes.

"I love to dance," she replied softly. "_Ima_ promised to let me dance soon."

"Are you excited about that?"

"Oh yes," she whispered with a small smile on her a face. A smile that wilted slightly when she mumbled, "_Abba _does not like that. He says it'll be of 'no use' to me."

Gibbs knew Ziva had mentioned joining Mossad because of her aunt, but was there more to it? Had Eli had a hand in her future? It wouldn't be the first time he used his children as puppets. Pulled their strings so they'd do exactly what he wanted.

"Do you think I could dance?" Ziva asked curiously.

Gibbs was quiet for a second, but he managed a nod and said, "Yeah, I think you can." She beamed at him and wandered back into the living room. He pushed himself up, watching her carefully, and wondered just how different her life would have been if she did become a dancer. No torture, no Rivkin, no Mossad: just a girl, dancing on a stage.

Briefly, he thought about what would happen if he couldn't fix his agents. Would he allow them to become agents when they grew up? Would he encourage them to follow the dreams they had growing up? Or, despite his encouragement, would they still end up in the same, exact places they were as adults?

He couldn't decide whether he wanted to find out or not, and that scared him more than anything.

**NCIS**

**OK, in a review someone pointed out that Ziva could speak English fairly well for a four-year-old whose first language is Hebrew. I am, what you might call, a semi-lazy writer. So, that's why she knows English so well. But I did slip in a couple Hebrew words. Abba as you know, means father (she used it in season seven or eight. I can't remember which). And Ima means mother._  
><em>**

**So, yeah, I know this is short. I am sorry, I have been trying to keep up with all my stories. But I do know the next chapter should be longer.**

**So, thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favs last chapter. You guys are awesome.**

**Thanks for reading, drop a comment if you want, and I own nothing.**

**PEACE...**


	9. Chapter 9

Gibbs seemed to have developed a shadow after the boys woke up. McGee was still a little shaken from his tree experience, and took to following the older man around. Jethro didn't mind, a part of him wanted to keep an extra eye on Tim anyway.

While Tony and Ziva headed outside, both kids promising to stay out of the trees, Gibbs let Tim help him prepare instant pudding for dessert. It was their secret, Tony and Ziva having to wait until after dinner.

"I promise to be quiet, Gibbs," Tim said as he sat on the counter. He made a point to not look down, instead keeping his green eyes locked on the bowl as Gibbs added milk.

"I know, Tim," Jethro replied smiling. "Would you like to help stir?"

"Really?" McGee questioned, his eyes lightening up.

"Yes really," Gibbs answered handing over a wooden spoon.

Together they managed to mix the chocolate powder with the milk, McGee only making one little mess, and soon the pudding was chilling in the fridge with tin foil covering it.

"We should clean up, Gibbs," McGee suggested pointing to the powder covered counter top. "It's not a secret if they can see the mess."

"You're right," Jethro responded nodding. He placed McGee back on the floor and grabbed the washrag from the sink. He wet the cloth and hurriedly cleaned up the mess just as the back door flew open.

"Gibbs," Tony whined walking inside, his hair and coat wet. "It's raining."

"This is not fair," Ziva stated, waiting for Jethro to come inside before shutting the door. "I was playing fetch with Jethro."

The dog merely shook the water from his fur, spraying both kids, and trudged into the living room.

"Stupid dog," Tony muttered darkly as he shrugged out of his jacket.

"He's not stupid, Tony," McGee said calmly. "That is just what dogs do when they are wet."

"Well, Timmy, he got me even more wet," Tony replied in a mocking tone, turning to look at Tim. "He was being stupid."

"Hey," Gibbs said before an argument could break out. "Why don't we get you two into something dry and maybe we'll call Abby and have her stop by the video place to get you guys some movies."

"Can we get _Psycho?_" Tony asked excitedly.

"Pick something else," Gibbs responded walking into the living room.

The kids followed him. DiNozzo named off several more movie titles, none of which were appropriate for a child his age. It seemed nannies weren't the only thing that raised DiNozzo.

The kids finally settled on three different movies: _The Wizard of Oz_, _Batman, _and _Benji_. After he had the list, Gibbs grabbed his cell phone off the kitchen counter and called Abby. She answered on the second ring, her music playing in the background.

"_Abby Scuito: forensics extraordinaire."_

Gibbs smirked at her statement and said, "Abbs, I need you to do something for me."

"_It's your back isn't it? Hold on Gibbs, let me call…"_

"Abby, it's not my back," Jethro interrupted and he heard Abby stop.

"_What's up?"_

"Can you get us a couple movies for tonight?"

"_Sure thing, bossman,"_ Abby replied and Gibbs named off each film. He could hear her scribble down the names. "_Is that it?"_

"Yes," he replied nodding.

"_Great. Oh, and before you go, Ducky and I doctored up some medical records for the kids. Just in case…" _she trailed off. "_I mean, it's not like it's going to happen, but in the off chance something __**does**__ happen, I just think you should be prepared."_

"I got it, Abbs," Gibbs said softly. He understood why she made the records, just in case one of the kids needed medical attention. He was going to try his damndest to avoid that, but in the off chance it happened...

He'd rather be safe than sorry.

"_I should be off by six, barring anything big happens. I'll probably be over by seven."_

"Okay."

"_Oh, and I totally forgot to tell you when that machine is arriving. It's going to be at the naval yard tomorrow. Rush delivery. So, you're going to have to bring the kids to work tomorrow." _She sounded very excited about that, and Gibbs knew she just wanted to spend even more time with his mini team.

"We'll be there, Abbs."

Gibbs ended the call a few moments later, pocketing his phone. He turned to see McGee standing about six inches away from him, looking up at him with wide green eyes.

"Abby's coming over?" Tim asked barely keeping his excitement at bay.

"She'll be here later."

The sandy haired boy beamed at the news. Gibbs' instincts told him to remind McGee of rule 12, but the small boy was four. He wasn't going to understand, and his 'crush' was just that: a crush.

"Timmy," Ziva said from the entryway between the living room and kitchen. Tim turned in the direction of her voice. "Do you wanna color with me? Tony says coloring is stupid."

"Sure," Tim responded. He then looked up at the older man. "You can color, too. Right Gibbs?"

Jethro _almost_ declined the boy's suggestion, but he couldn't really see why he should say 'no.' So he nodded and followed Ziva and McGee back into the living room. The small group settled on the floor. Ziva and Tim lying on their stomachs while Gibbs sat crossed legged. As they started coloring, Tony picked up a toy airplane and ran it around the house.

"One day, I am going to be a pilot," he announced between airplane noises. "And I will fly all around the world."

"Really?" Gibbs questioned searching for a green crayon.

"Yes, like John Wayne. I will land the plane and save everyone," Tony responded spinning in a circle.

"You have to learn to fly first," Ziva pointed out absentmindedly, coloring the duck in her picture yellow.

"Then I will go to the same flying school John Wayne did. If he can be a cowboy _and_ a pilot then I can be a pilot. Besides, I am as cool as him."

"I do not even know who that is, but I do not think you are," Ziva replied swinging her bent legs back and forth

"You have no idea what you are talking about, Zee-vah," Tony replied darkly, stopping in mid-spin to glare at her. Ziva looked up and stuck her tongue out at him.

"What do you want to be, Tim?" Gibbs asked before Ziva and Tony could start fighting.

"I wanna make robots," McGee replied looking up from his drawing.

"Robots? Like Robbie?" Tony questioned moving across the floor to sit down next to the small group.

"Or The Terminator?" Ziva barely kept a shiver at bay. "I did not like that movie. Ari made me watch it with him."

"What's it about?" Tony asked curiously.

"This man tries to kill a lady. I am not sure why, but at one point his eye is red. Ari told me he was an evil robot. I do not like robots."

"That movies sounds awesome," Tony exclaimed pushing himself up again. "And robots are cool. Robbie was in a lot of movies. My nanny told me about him." He went back to playing with his airplane.

"Do you think I can build robots, Gibbs?" McGee asked returning his attention to the older man.

Gibbs had seen McGee do incredible things with computers. Most of which Jethro didn't understand, nor did he try, but whatever Tim did it got him results. Did he think McGee could build robots? Of course Tim could build a robot.

Gibbs opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted when a clap of thunder crashed across the sky, shaking the windows. McGee dropped his crayon and was at Gibbs' side in seconds, burying his face into the older man's shoulder.

"It's okay," Gibbs said softly, wrapping his arm around the slightly shaking boy.

"Yes, Tim, it is going to be fine," Ziva said assuredly, calmly continuing to color her picture. Tony, on the other hand, had abandoned his plane and was now sitting close to Gibbs. He was trying not to act scared, but Jethro saw right through him.

"It's okay," the older man repeated, wrapping his other arm around Tony. "It's just a little thunder."

"I thought you were scared of nothing, Tony," Ziva pointed out giving DiNozzo a small, seemingly innocent smile.

"I am," DiNozzo replied softly. "I am just trying to protect…" A second crack of thunder hit and both boys buried their faces into Gibbs' jacket. Even Ziva looked a little nervous, but she took a calming breath and returned to her drawing.

**NCIS**

The wind and the rain picked up a while later, and when thunder sounded again, this time followed by a flash of lightening, Gibbs found himself sitting against the couch with an armful of children and a giant German Shepard sitting at his feet.

He had put cartoons on, having already called Abby to tell her to go straight home after work. He didn't want her driving in this stuff anymore than she had to; he'd get the kids their movies tomorrow.

"I don't understand how he can build a fire underground," McGee said watching a yellow sponge and a pink starfish singing around a camp fire. "Wouldn't it go out?"

"It's a cartoon Timmy," Tony replied, the back of his head against Gibbs' chest, watching the cartoon through half-mast eyes.

"I think it is boring," Ziva commented looking up from her book.

"And reading is _so_ much fun," Tony retorted grinning when Ziva glared at him.

"I bet you do not even know how to read," she replied coolly.

"I can read just fine, Zee-vah," Tony argued pushing himself away from Gibbs. "My nanny has been teaching me."

"And I am sure it has been…" Thunder cut Ziva off, and all three kids burrowed into Gibbs again. The lights flickered and McGee's eyed the lamp cautiously.

"It's going to be okay," Gibbs whispered gently rocking the kids. They continued to watch cartoons until the storm knocked the power out.

"Gibbs it's dark," Tony whispered and Jethro felt the small boy move as he looked around the room.

"Yeah, I know. Let me up, I'll get a flashlight."

The kids were reluctant to move, but slowly, one by one, they got to their feet. Though, Tim clung to Gibbs' shirt, and Tony and Ziva stayed close to his heels as Gibbs walked into the kitchen. He searched the drawers, finding two flashlights next to the silverware drawer.

"Here," he said handing a flashlight to Tim while he lit the other. He checked his watch and said, "We might as well make something simple for dinner." He dared not open the fridge, knowing there was too much stuff in there that could be spoiled if he continued to open the door.

"But Gibbs what about…" McGee trailed off.

"I promise, if the lights come back on before bed, you can have some," Jethro replied heading towards the cabinets.

"Have some of what?" Tony and Ziva asked curiously.

"It's a secret," McGee replied softly.

"Well, can _I _know?" Ziva questioned curiously.

"Neither one of you can," Tim said, tightening his grip on Gibbs' shirt as thunder rumbled across the sky. "I-it's a secret," McGee repeated nearly breathlessly, shaking against Gibbs' side.

"Let's have soup," Gibbs suggested, sensing an argument coming, and he headed towards the pantry.

**NCIS**

After a quick dinner of stovetop soup, Gibbs and the kids spent the remainder of the night sitting on the couch. Around nine, Ziva was the first to nod off, curled against Gibbs' side. Tony was next, his head resting on Jethro's knee, his left arm and leg dangling off the couch. It took a while for McGee to go to sleep. He stubbornly waited until the lights came back on, around two, before he even let his eyes close. With three kids passed out around him, Gibbs knew he couldn't move without waking them.

So, he stayed camped out on the couch. He must have fallen asleep sometime between three and four because the next thing he knew a crash jolted him from sleep.

He sat up, his back sore, and looked around. All three kids were gone, but one of them had put a blanket over him. He pushed it off himself, getting to his feet. He listened, waiting for any other noises, and sure enough he heard a hissed, "We shouldn't be doing this."

He followed the voice, tripping over a couple toys, and stopped short of the kitchen. He looked at the kids, all three standing around the giant pudding bowl, spoons in their hands. The crash had been the pudding bowl hitting the floor.

"What is going on?" Gibbs asked startling all three kids.

"Hey, Gibbs, the lights came back on," Tony spoke first, putting his spoon back into the bowl. He smiled, but it wilted and he mumbled, "We were hungry."

"Yes, we thought you would not mind," Ziva replied pudding dripping from her spoon and onto the floor.

"Sorry Gibbs," Tim muttered looking at the floor.

Gibbs just shook his head and walked towards the bowl. He picked it up and carried it to the counter. Setting it down, he picked up a washrag and walked back towards the mess. "Now you guys can't have dessert tonight."

**NCIS**

After the mess and the kids were cleaned up, Gibbs piled them into the car and took them to the naval yard. On the way there, McGee fell asleep and Tony and Ziva argued over whether or not DiNozzo could read.

By the time they reached the parking garage, neither Ziva nor DiNozzo were speaking to each other and McGee was just waking up. Gibbs turned his car off, got out, and helped each kid out of the backseat.

"Stay close," he said as he locked and shut the door. He then lead the kids towards the elevator, nodding at a fellow agent as she walked past them. She smiled at the kids but otherwise didn't say anything.

The elevator ride was silent. Tony was rocking back and forth on his heels, hands behind his back, watching the numbers countdown. Ziva was leaning against the wall, glaring at Tony. And Tim kept rubbing his eyes, obviously still tired from the night before.

When the doors opened, the kids were greeted by a very enthusiastic Abby. She hugged each one, and then let them off the elevator and into the evidence garage.

"So, it arrived around four this morning. I got the call and have been here since then," Abby said, her words practically blurring together.

"How many Caf-Pows have you had?" Gibbs asked curiously.

"None," Abby answered quickly, too quickly. "Four," she admitted after a few seconds hesitation.

"What's Caf-Pow?" Tony questioned looking between the two adults.

"Something you are never going to drink," Gibbs replied as he stopped next to the Zoltar machine.

"That is creepy," Ziva commented looking up at the machine. McGee nodded.

"I think it looks cool," Tony said studying the machine closely. "What is it?"

"Abbs." Gibbs looked over his shoulder at her, gesturing towards the kids. "Can you…?

She nodded and said, "Come on, kids. Let's go visit Ducky."

"But Gibbs…" McGee started sounding worried.

"I'll meet you there," Gibbs reassured the small boy and finally Abby was able to take the kids away. Jethro waited until they were gone before meeting the Zoltar's eyes and saying, "Okay, here's the deal. I screwed up. I need you to fix what I did." He waited, hoping for a spark of lightning or something. Instead, the fortune teller just stared at him.

"Fine, I wish I never made that wish." Again nothing happened. For a second, Gibbs wondered if he maybe had to go to sleep. Like he did when he first made the wish, but a gut feeling told him it hadn't worked regardless of what he did.

It all came down to Tobias now, something Gibbs would never admit to, or this mysterious lesson. And if neither worked…

He didn't know what to think.

He thought he'd be disappointed, not having his team back, but a part of him was actually elated. He knew he couldn't get attached, but it was becoming harder and harder. He had to turn them back soon otherwise he may not physically be able to.

**NCIS**

**I am aware the ending kinda fell flat. I was trying not to drag the chapter on, but I didn't want to end it horribly, and I probably did anyway. Yeah, so if the ending it a little flat I can only say 'I'll try better next time.'**

**Anyway, thanks for reviewing, alerting, and favoriting last chapter. You guys are awesome.**

**So, I need to go, thanks for reading, and I own nothing.**

**Drop a comment**

**PEACE!**


	10. Chapter 10

Gibbs stepped off the elevator to the sound of giggling. He followed the laughter, stopping in the entryway to autopsy. Palmer had a hold of Ziva under her arms and was gently swinging her in lazy circles. Every time he'd turn, she'd laugh and say, "Do it again, Jimmy."

"Oh Gibbs," Jimmy started when he spotted the older man in the doorway. "We were just…"

"Jimmy was spinning me Gibbs," Ziva informed the older man. "You should try it. It is _so_ fun." At those words, Jimmy spun her in a half circle and she squealed with delight.

"Maybe later," Jethro replied smiling slightly. He looked around autopsy, met Palmer's eyes, and asked, "Where's Abby and the boys?"

"Tim had to go to the bathroom, so Abby took him" Palmer started placing Ziva back on the floor. "And Tony…" Jimmy turned in a complete circle, looking for the little boy. "He was right…"

"Palmer," Gibbs growled trying to keep from panicking. Jimmy Palmer did not lose Tony; even he wouldn't be that irresponsible.

"I-I didn't…" Palmer rushed into Ducky's office only to return breathing quickly. His skin was as white as paper, and he looked like he was going to throw up.

"Palmer, where is Tony?" Gibbs asked slowly, his voice cold.

Palmer swallowed audibly and whispered, "I-I don't…"

"Hey Gibbs," Abby greeted cheerfully as she and McGee walked back into the room. She sensed the tension and stopped dead, her smile wilting. "What's up?"

"Tony's missing," Gibbs replied still glaring at Jimmy.

"I thought he was with Ducky," Abby said, her eyebrows furrowing.

"D-Dr. Mallard…" Jimmy's voice was breathy and Gibbs had a feeling if he didn't calm down he was going to pass out.

"Sit down, Palmer," Gibbs snapped pushing Palmer into his desk chair. He pushed Jimmy's head forward and said, "Breath. We'll find him.

"Abbs." Jethro turned to Abby, who looked as if she was going to burst into tears. "You and Tim go check the floor above us, and call if you find him." She nodded and ushered McGee out of the room, ignoring the small boys questioning looks.

"Palmer," Gibbs continued, turning to look at Ducky's assistant. Reluctantly, Palmer looked up to meet Gibbs' eyes. "You stay here and call me if he comes back." Jimmy nodded, lowering his head again.

"Come on, Ziver," Gibbs said heading out of the room.

"Where are we going?" Ziva asked not giving the nickname a second thought.

"Upstairs."

"Why?"

"To look for Tony."

"Is he missing? Has he been taken?" she questioned sounding worried.

"Not if I can help it."

**NCIS**

Jethro's heart was slamming against his ribcage as he and Ziva rode the elevator up to the bullpen. The entire ride, an internal turmoil had taken refuge in his head, leaving him a big, worried mess. He hadn't felt anything close to this since the time Kelly had wandered off at the circus when she was four.

What if he left the building? What if someone had grabbed Tony? What if a car hit him? What if he was hurt? What if…? Gibbs gave himself a little shake, knocking those thoughts away. He couldn't afford to be negative right now. It wasn't helping anything. Besides, if any of those things had occurred he'd know. His gut would have told him.

"It will be okay, Gibbs," Ziva said softly, taking his hand in hers. "We will find him."

The elevator doors slid open, and Gibbs and Ziva stepped off into the bullpen. Jethro was debating whether or not to call Vance and ask him to lockdown the building when he heard a loud shout sound from the middle of the room.

"Come on," Gibbs murmured and he and Ziva followed the commotion.

The first thing Jethro noticed was Bert the hippo sitting on McGee's desk, a stapler laying next his feet, McGee's sunglasses resting on his face.

"Enemies, Private!" Tony shouted from McGee's chair. He had his hands out like he was flying a plane, a pair of familiar sunglasses covering his eyes while an NCIS cap sat on his head, falling past his ears. "Take out the enemies! I can't fly with them shootin' at us!

"Reinforcements," Tony exclaimed when he spotted Gibbs and Ziva. "We're saved, Private Toot."

"Tony…" Gibbs started, but he could tell DiNozzo wasn't listening to him. "Tony," he tried again, and the little boy looked back up at him.

"Sir, I'm surrounded. I need help!"

"Why did you wander off?" Gibbs asked moving to stand in front of Tim's desk.

"I didn't wander off, sir," Tony replied slowly, trying to look around the older man. "Me and Private Toot are on a mission. We're trying to save the hostages." He gestured to the other end of the bullpen where agents were going about their day. A few were throwing Tony annoyed looks, no doubt unable to concentrate with how loud he was being.

"Tony, I'm serious, you can't…"

"The enemy! Private Toot, open fire!" Tony screamed and starting throwing paper balls at the slowly approaching Vance. "Get down, Gibbs. I don't want to hit you on accident."

"DiNozzo," Vance barked when a paper ball hit him in the face. Tony froze, mid-throw, a suspicious look on his face.

"The enemy knows my name, Toot," he said to Bert. "RETREAT!" He grabbed Abby's hippo and tried to run, but Gibbs caught him around the middle and swung him up into his arms.

"Lemme go, Gibbs," Tony whined struggling to get down. "The enemy is approaching." He dropped Bert and the hippo hit the ground, letting out one of his signature sounds. "Private Toot! No!"

"Gibbs, control your agent," Vance said shortly.

"You've got kids. He's four, Leon. What did you expect?" Gibbs snapped struggling to keep a hold of Tony.

"This is a government facility, Gibbs. Not a playground."

"I was bored," Tony grumbled finally breaking character and glaring at Vance. "This place is boring."

"He's right, Leon," Gibbs replied meeting the younger man's eyes.

"Then put them in daycare next time," Vance said softly, "and keep an eye on them next time."

Gibbs just turned and carried Tony back to the elevator. Ziva grabbed Bert and quickly chased after the older man.

Once they were back on the elevator, Gibbs placed Tony on the floor. DiNozzo looked up at Gibbs and asked, "Why did he call me…?"

"Don't you ever wander off again," Gibbs exclaimed before the small boy could finish his question. "Do you understand me?"

"I was bored," Tony whispered, unshed tears clinging to his lashes; a reaction to Gibbs' raised voice.

"I don't care," Gibbs replied, his voice softening. "I don't want anything bad happening to you. You can't wander off like that, okay? Not without telling someone where you are going."

"I told Jimmy. He said it was okay."

"Was he looking at you when he said it?" Tony shook his head and Gibbs sighed. "He probably didn't hear what you said." Gibbs glanced over at Bert, still held in Ziva's arms. "How did you get him anyway?" he asked nodding at the hippo.

"He was sitting on Abby's desk," Tony replied slowly. "I was looking for you, but when I couldn't find you…" he trailed off, looking worried. "She won't mind I took him, right?"

"I think she's more worried about you," Jethro said ruffling Tony's hair. As the doors opened on Abby's floor, he noticed the Goth standing in the doorway of her lab.

"Gibbs, I couldn't find him, but…" she spotted Tony and rushed towards the small boy, scooping him up. She hugged him tight, carrying him back to her lab.

"Lemme go, Abby," Tony whined squirming in her arms.

"No, I'm never letting you go," Abby replied disappearing into her lab. Gibbs and Ziva followed her.

"Tony, you're back!" McGee exclaimed and raced forward. He looked like he had been crying, no doubt worried about DiNozzo. "I thought you had been taken, but Abby told me you weren't."

"I'm fine, Timmy," Tony grumbled still feebly struggling in Abby's arms.

"Are you hurt?" she asked placing him on her lab table. She started looking for injuries. "Should we take you to Ducky when he gets back? He can check you over."

"I'm fine," Tony repeated trying to jump down.

"Abbs, he's fine," Gibbs said softly. "He was just bored."

"Where did you find him?" Abby finally left Tony alone, on the lab table, and approached Gibbs. Ziva moved away from the two adults, carrying Bert over to Tony and Tim.

"He was in the bullpen," Gibbs replied watching as Ziva handed Bert to Timmy. He squeezed the hippo and it let out its signature sound. All three kids giggled at the sound.

"I am so glad you found him. I don't want to think what could have happened…"

"Me too," Gibbs said quietly, cutting her words off.

"I can't believe Palmer let him wander off."

It wasn't Palmer's fault, at least not entirely. It was hard taking care of one kid, let alone two, and it could have been worse. Palmer could have lost both Ziva and Tony. But he still should have been keeping an eye on DiNozzo. If the older version's attention span was small, his smaller self probably didn't have an attention span at all.

"This stuff is gross," a small voice said and Gibbs turned to see DiNozzo put the huge, Caf-Pow cup back on Abby's lab table.

"Uh-oh," Abby whispered rushing forward to put him back on the floor. Gibbs hung his head, this day just kept getting _better_ and _better._

**NCIS**

The Caf-Pow didn't take long to affect Tony, and he was soon practically bouncing off the walls. The only thing Gibbs could do was to unleash him at the park. Though, he made sure there were no other kids, just in case there was a repeat of their last visit to the park.

While DiNozzo worked off the caffeine in his system by sprinting back and forth across the playground, Ziva headed towards the swings and Tim sat on the bench with Gibbs. He swung his legs back and forth for a while, fighting to keep his eyes opening, but soon his head fell against Gibbs' side and he fell asleep. Jethro smiled and wrapped his arm around McGee to keep him warm.

After a while, DiNozzo joined Ziva on the swings. He threw himself on the swing, stomach first, and began using his feet to turn the swing to the left. The chain began to twist, tighter and tighter, until his feet could no longer reach the ground, and then he let it go. The swing whipped around at dizzying speeds.

Ziva watched him for a moment, at first annoyed but soon interested. She slid off the swing and lay out on her stomach, twisting the swing in an imitation of Tony. Soon both kids were spinning in quick circles.

"I can go faster than you," Ziva challenged the smaller boy, but he wasn't listening anymore. He had abandoned the swings, his face a slight shade of green.

"Gibbs," Tony said softly, clutching his stomach. "I don't feel…" his words were cut off as red and brown splattered across the ground.

Jethro moved from the bench, waking McGee in the process, and headed towards Tony. He rested his hand on the small boy's trembling back, waiting until he was sure DiNozzo was finished before scooping him up into his arms.

"You okay?"

"I-I feel better now," DiNozzo stammered wiping his mouth with his jacket's sleeve. "I don't like that red stuff."

"I know you don't," Gibbs replied as he beckoned for Ziva and McGee. Once he had all three kids with him, he headed back to the car. He wondered if there was ever going to be a time when they left the park without an incident.

On the drive home, Tony's caffeine high crashed and he fell asleep. Ziva and McGee spoke quietly about some cartoon Gibbs had never heard of, and it wasn't until they were pulling into the driveway that Ziva asked, "What about our movies, Gibbs?"

"Crap," he whispered totally forgetting about the video store. "I'm sorry guys."

"It's okay, Gibbs," McGee said softly.

"Yeah, we are not mad," Ziva assured the older man. "We can go later."

As they returned to their conversation, Gibbs couldn't help smiling. Despite their obvious disappointment, they understood that they couldn't take the trip right now. He couldn't ask for more from them then their continued patience. He made a mental note to take them to an actual theater when Tony was feeling better. There had to be a children's movie they'd enjoy. He bet they'd like that, especially Tony.

**NCIS**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing, alerting, and favoriting last chapter. You guys are awesome.**

**I hope you enjoyed this, I will try to get to some of the requests you guys gave me, and I own nothing.**

**See ya!**


	11. Chapter 11

Tony slept through lunch and the rest of the afternoon, pulling himself from sleep as Gibbs was making dinner. Gibbs could hear Ziva and McGee greet him and ask if he were okay. He said he was fine and grumbled about McGee's dog getting off his legs. Jethro had taken it upon himself to guard Tony while he slept.

"He was being a good guard dog, Tony," McGee pointed out patiently.

"Well, he's making my legs all hot," DiNozzo whined.

"Stop kicking him," Tim snapped. It was the first time he had really lost his temper since becoming a child again.

"Yeah, Tony, stop!" Ziva exclaimed and Gibbs knew that was his cue to step in and stop anything before it began.

"Jethro down," he said to the German Shepard. The dog gave an audile 'humph' before jumping off the couch. He padded across the floor and jumped onto Gibbs' easy chair, making himself at home.

"Gibbs," McGee started pointing at Tony, "he was kicking Jethro."

"He was making my legs hot," Tony defended himself.

The dog hadn't made a noise, obviously Tony hadn't hurt him, but Gibbs could see where Tim was getting at. He saw Jethro as a friend, and-even as an adult-when people Tim cared about were in trouble he became very protective. Generally NCIS agents didn't hide the fact that their younger sisters may have committed murder if they weren't overly protective. So, Gibbs sighed and said, "Tony, you really shouldn't have kicked the dog."

"Sorry Gibbs," DiNozzo whispered looking at the floor.

"I think you should 'pologize to Jethro," Ziva spoke up and Tim nodded in agreement.

"Do I have to?" Tony looked at Gibbs, clearly appalled by the idea.

"I think you should," Gibbs agreed, nodding.

Tony gave an exaggerated sigh, looked at the German Shepard, and said, "Sorry." Jethro snorted, but otherwise didn't move to lift his head. Tony shrugged and muttered, "Are ya happy?"

McGee was quiet for a moment, but he finally met Tony's eyes and nodded. Grateful that the drama had past without any bloodshed, Gibbs turned his attention to DiNozzo, kneeling next to the small boy. He rested his hand on Tony's forehead, checking for fever. Looking him in the eyes, Gibbs asked, "How are ya feeling?"

"I'm fine," Tony replied rubbing his eyes. The best part of this 'fine,' Gibbs could tell DiNozzo wasn't just saying it so he'd be left alone. "I'm hungry."

"Yeah, I figured. I'm making dinner."

"As long as it's not that icky, red stuff," DiNozzo said slowly.

"I promise," Jethro replied with a small smile. He pushed himself to his feet and started towards the kitchen.

"Wait, Gibbs," Tony called and the older man turned to look at him. "Did we get our movies?"

"We were waiting until you got better," McGee answered for Jethro. "Gibbs promised to take us when you were feeling better."

"We'll go after dinner," Gibbs promised and returned to the kitchen. He thought about calling Abby, asking if she wanted to tag along, but figured she might have to work late. It looked as if he was going to have to take all three to the movies, by himself.

As long as he avoided tears and tantrums, it was going to be fine. He just had to survive a ninety-minute cartoon. How bad could it really be?

**NCIS**

The kids were excited when Gibbs told them they were going to the movie theater instead of renting a bunch of VHS-es.

"Are we seeing a movie with John Wayne?" Tony asked jumping in his seat with excitement.

"No," Gibbs replied slowly.

"Humpy Bowlgard?"

It took a second for Gibbs to figure out who Tony was talking about, but when it clicked he shook his head and said, "Not him, either."

"Then what?" Ziva asked curiously.

"Yeah Gibbs, what are we gonna see?" McGee questioned equally as curious.

In all honestly, Jethro didn't know. He had no clue what was playing, having only scanned the paper for a few seconds. He hadn't been to an actual theater in years, but he had driven past them a few times. They still advertised movie posters on the wall. He'd figure it out.

Once he parked the car, several spaces away from the entrance, he let all three kids out of their seats. He warned them to stay close. The parking lot was packed with too many people and cars. Tony's little 'adventure' was still fresh in Gibbs' mind, and he didn't want a repeat with the other kids (or Tony again).

After his car was locked, he ushered his horde towards the entrance. He stopped just outside, looking at all the movie posters. There wasn't a lot to chose from, a big chunk of the movies over G or PG. He had no intention of moving into PG-13 territory and anything past that was out of the question. It didn't help matters that each kid wanted to see something different.

"Ooh, Gibbs, can we watch that car movie?"

"No, let's watch the one with the giant robot."

"I want to see the one with the kitty."

He glanced at the posters each kid was pointing at. The first, Tony's choice, had been out for a while and might actually have an empty theater. It'd be ideal, especially if one (or all) of the kids started getting rowdy. The second, Tim's choice, was out of the question from the rating alone. Plus, according to both older McGee and older Tony (who had seen it opening weekend) it wasn't as good as it could have been. That left Ziva's choice, the cat movie. It had been released a few weeks ago; again the theater could be near empty.

He listened to all three kids beg him to see their movie, and he was second away from just choosing the one that was the shortest, when he noticed people spilling out. He heard a siren in the distance and an alarm wailing from inside the building.

"What happened?" he asked a nearby man.

"One of the projection boxes caught on fire," the man replied ushering his girls away from the building. Well, there went that idea.

**NCIS**

After they were cleared to leave, Gibbs ended up taking the kids to the movie store. They were bummed that they weren't seeing a movie on the big screen, but the moment Gibbs released the kids into the video store their moods brightened.

"Stick to the kids' section," Gibbs called after his team. He didn't want a stack of rated R movies coming back. He leaned against the counter, watching the kids closely. He heard the girl behind the counter chuckle.

"Are they all yours?" she asked curiously.

"Uh, yeah," Gibbs replied watching as Ziva debated whether to get _Willy Wonka_ or _The Wizard of Oz._ He wondered where the boys had disappeared to, but caught sight of Tony's hair a few seconds later while he heard McGee say, "That movie is boring."

The girl continued to talk, reminding Gibbs of Abby. He tuned her out, more preoccupied with keeping an eye on the kids. Ziva returned to his side first, carrying _The Wizard of Oz._ She handed it to him and he set it on the counter.

The boys were gone for a while, Gibbs was close to hunting them down, but soon Tony sprinted around the corner yelling, "Gibbs, it's a movie about donuts!"

"What?"

"Here, see." Tony handed the movie over, and Gibbs glanced at the cover. It was _not_ a movie about donuts.

"Where did you get this?"

"Behind that curtain," Tony replied pointing to a red curtain.

"Uh, I'm pretty sure he's not allowed back there," the counter girl said.

"Ya think," Gibbs snapped barely glancing her way. He carried the movie back to the curtained off area, Ziva and Tony following him. "Stay here," he said to the two kids and ducked behind the curtain. He looked around the area, intending to put the video back, but froze when he spotted McGee standing in the middle of the room, staring at all the video covers in awe.

"Hey, Tim, you shouldn't be back here," he said walking towards the small boy.

"Gibbs," McGee breathed, his wide, green eyes locking onto a set of woman's breasts, "those ladies are naked."

"Yes they are, Tim. Now come on," Gibbs said scooping the small boy up. He dropped the 'donut' movie onto a random shelf and carried Tim out of the curtained off area.

"But why are they naked?" Ziva asked Tony as Gibbs placed Tim back on the floor.

"I don't know," Tony admitted and then looked up at Jethro. "Gibbs, why were those people naked?"

Instead of answering, Gibbs just led the kids back to the correct section. He waited until Tim and Tony picked their _age appropriate _movies, both boys continuing to ask Jethro why those people were naked. Even Ziva was curious, but she allowed the boys to ask their questions instead of inputting her own.

"Just these three?" the girl behind the counter asked once they returned to her. She was obviously trying to forget what just happened. Jethro nodded, ignoring the children's questions. After she scanned the videos and Tony's card (Gibbs having snagged it before they left that morning), he thanked the girl, grabbed the movies, and ushered the kids out of the video store.

Once they were in the car, and several blocks from the video store, did Gibbs take a breath and say, "They are films for adults. You shouldn't have been back there." He was looking at both boys in the review mirror.

Tim hung his head, but Tony met Gibbs eyes and asked, "So, people make movies where they are naked?"

"Yes," Jethro replied with a sigh.

"Why?"

"Because some people like to watch movies like that."

"Do you?" Ziva questioned curiously.

"No," Gibbs answered stopping at a red light.

"Have you ever?" McGee inquired looking up.

The questions continued all the way home, and Gibbs was actually glad when he put in _The Wizard of Oz_ and all three kids went quiet. He poured them a bowl of trail mix, picked out anything that might make them choke, and grabbed three juice boxed from the fridge before carrying the bowl into the living room.

He left the bowl and juice on the coffee table, and then returned to the dining room table. He sat down, collected his paper and glasses, and was about to start reading when Tony quietly asked, "Hey Gibbs, do _a lot_ of people make naked movies?"

"Just watch your movie, Anthony," Gibbs said without looking up from the paper.

"Okay."

**NCIS**

**According to my mother, w****hat happened to the kids _almost_ happened to me when I was three. But the person behind the counter told my mother before I went beyond the curtain. **

**Anyway, yes this chapter wasn't very mature. I do believe my inner twelve year old took over for a second. BUT I am sure kids have done this before. As I stated, I almost did.**

**So, thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favs last chapter. You guys are awesome.**

**I will try to make the next chapter more serious, thanks for reading, and I own nothing.**

**Drop a comment if you want.**

**BYE!**


	12. Chapter 12

It was a first. Gibbs was actually up before the kids the following morning. He took a quick shower, changed, let Jethro out, and was half way through his paper when he heard movement from upstairs. His eyes tracked the movement and he listened as three sets of footsteps moved as quietly as they could down the stairs.

"Shh," Ziva whispered as the three kids stepped around the corner, her finger on his lips. "We don't want to wake…"

"Hungry guys?" Gibbs questioned and all three kids jumped, whirling around to look at him.

"Gibbs, you're awake!" Tony pointed out, his eyes wide.

"Yes I am," Gibbs replied getting to his feet. "You want cereal?" All three kids nodded. "What kind? We've got Lucky Charms or Fruit Loops."

It took them a second to get over the initial shock of Gibbs being awake before them, but eventually Tony headed towards the table and said, "Lucky Charms."

"I want Fruit Loops, please," McGee announced following Tony to the table.

"I will have Fruit Loops also," Ziva stated moving to sit next to Tim and across from DiNozzo.

Gibbs had bought three kinds of cereal on their 'eventful' shopping trip. Two were for the kids while the third kind was for him. He pulled all three boxes from the cabinet, setting all three in a row on the counter.

"Why's that one have raisins?" Tony asked pointing at the cereal Gibbs had intended to eat.

"I like raisins," Gibbs replied pulling four bowls from the cabinet by the sink.

"Why?" Ziva questioned curiously.

"They're good for you," Gibbs responded pouring Fruit Loops into two of the four bowls.

"Why?" McGee probed in interest.

"Uh, they…" Jethro wracked his brain, trying to remember his high school science class. Did they even talk about raisins in high school? Or was it a few years beforehand? He knew he had to say something, so he drew in a breath and said, "They help keep you healthy." He was aware he just repeated what he said earlier, just with different words, but it was better than nothing.

"Why?" all three kids asked together, and Gibbs flashed back to a time when Kelly went through the same stage. '_Why's the sky blue, Daddy?' 'Why's that man sitting on the sidewalk, Daddy?' 'Am I gonna die like Grandpa Fielding, Daddy?'_

"Gibbs, are you okay?" McGee's voice ripped Jethro from his thoughts, dumping him back to reality. He was quiet for a moment, trying to push back that last memory. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "Yeah, Tim, I'm fine."

He finished making their breakfast, thankful that there were no more questions, and gave each kid a bowl of their preferred cereal. He then poured himself some cereal, barely paying attention to what kind he had picked, and sat down at the table with the kids.

"I thought you were eating the icky raisin cereal," Tony exclaimed pointing at Gibbs' bowl. The older man looked down, and noticed he had marshmallows and bits of cereal floating around the milk in his bowl instead of Raisin Bran.

"I guess not," Gibbs responded and the table lapsed into a heavy silence.

After breakfast, the kids went to get dressed while Gibbs cleaned their cereal bowls. He tried, and failed, to not think about the time Kelly asked him whether or not she was going to die. The question circled his head, attacking the parts of his mind he had managed to keep locked up for a very long time. He knew it was one of those things he could never forget; no matter how many times he ended up with amnesia.

He dried the last bowl, putting all four back into the cabinet, and was just cleaning up the water mess he made when a pair of feet ran up to him and said, "I did it, Gibbs! I did it!"

Jethro turned to see McGee jumping up and down, pointing at his shoes. "What did you do?" he asked curiously.

"I tied my shoes. Look." The sandy haired stood still long enough to show Gibbs his haphazardly tied shoe. "I did like you said and I did it!

"Yes you did," Jethro responded smiling. He ruffled the small boy's hair. "I'm proud of you Tim."

The boy beamed, gave Gibbs a quick hug, and said, "Thank you, Gibbs." He then turned and Jethro watched him run back into the living room, still smiling. Tim's reaction to tying his own shoes wasn't enough to completely push that terrible memory of Kelly away, but, for Gibbs, it was definitely a start.

**NCIS**

"No fair, you cheated," Ziva snapped storming out of the closet's open door.

"I did not," Tony responded equally as angry.

"_Yes _you did. You were peeking. I saw you." She turned to McGee, who was standing next to Tony. "Right, Timmy."

"I-I…" McGee's eyes widened. Had he been his real age, he would have said something like '_Don't involve me,'_ or mumbled something about going to see Abby just to avoid answering Ziva's question. But he wasn't his real age; he didn't know what to do about being put on the spot. So, he gulped and bolted up the stairs.

"You scared him, Ziva," Tony said looking from Tim's retreating form to the frizzy haired girl glaring at him.

"I did not. I asked him a question," Ziva retorted sourly. "Besides, if you had not cheated I would not have to ask."

"I did not cheat."

"Yes you did."

"Guys!" Gibbs shouted and both kids stopped fighting. "What's going on?" Jethro had been listening to the argument from the kitchen table, trying to figure out how the argument started exactly, but it was easier just to ask.

"He was s'posed to be counting and he peeked and he knew where I was hiding," Ziva explained pointing at Tony.

"I did not peek," Tony replied trying to give Gibbs an innocent smile. Right there, Jethro knew DiNozzo was lying; he only pulled out the innocent smile when he was trying to get out of, or away with, something.

"Why'd you peek, Tony?" Gibbs asked looking down at the green eyed brunette.

He was quiet for a moment, obviously trying to come up with a lie, but he must have figured Gibbs would see right through the lie. So, he sighed, looked at his shoes, and muttered, "I didn't mean to."

"Ha, I knew it," Ziva exclaimed and she looked about ready to tackle him.

"Ziva, go find Tim," Gibbs said pointing at the stairs.

"But Gibbs…"

"Please."

Grumbling under her breath, Ziva stormed up the stairs. At the top, she shouted, "McGee, you better come out now!"

"It's not fair to the others when you cheat, Tony," Gibbs started patiently, the moment Ziva was out of earshot.

"I know," Tony whispered still looking at his shoes. Gibbs wasn't sure if he was really upset or if it was an act. DiNozzo could be a crafty SOB as an adult. Who really knew when he perfected that skill. Regardless, Gibbs knew he had to wrap up this lecture before his words just became garbled nonsense to the four-year-old's ears.

"So, no more cheating. You got me?" Tony nodded, still looking at his shoes. "I mean it."

"Fine," DiNozzo whispered, "no more cheating." He was quiet for a moment, but he finally sighed and asked, "Can I go outside?"

"Go," Gibbs replied nodding towards the door. He spied a smile on Tony's face as he raced towards the back door. That little stinker, it had been a ruse the entire time.

Rolling his eyes, Gibbs turned to see Ziva and McGee descending the stairs. Tim kept throwing Ziva cautious looks, obviously waiting for her to start yelling at him again. She looked as if she wanted to yell at someone, but Gibbs threw her a look and she opted to keep her mouth shut.

"You okay?" Gibbs asked Tim and he nodded. "You sure?"

"I'm fine," he replied softly.

"Okay," Jethro responded nodding. "Why don't you two head outside, okay? Tony's out there..." Ziva grinned, and for a moment Gibbs was certain he saw her eyes flash. It reminded him of when Tony was getting on her nerves and she was about to threaten him with a paperclip. "Don't even think about it," Gibbs told the little girl, and her smile wilted.

"Fine," she grumbled as she followed Tim towards the back door. The moment they disappeared outside, the phone rang.

Gibbs moved across the room, picking the phone up from the kitchen counter. "Yeah, Gibbs," he answered leaning against the counter.

"_Hi Gibbs!" _Abby said brightly.

"What's up, Abbs?"

"_I was wondering if I could borrow Ziva for a few hours."_

"Why?" Gibbs questioned cautiously. It's not that he didn't trust Abby, he did, but he also knew just how eccentric she could be and he shuddered to think what she wanted to do with Ziva.

"_I wanted to go shopping, and I thought Ziva would enjoy a few hours away from the boys," _Abby responded and Gibbs could see her almost shrugging as if to say 'what's the big deal?' "_Besides, I think she needs more girly stuff in her life. And I know this store that has the cutest boys' clothes."_

"Abbs, you can't keep buying them clothes. What am I going to do with all this stuff when we reverse this wish?"

"_Donate it,_" Abby suggested sounding as if that was the most logical answer. "_Besides, we're not even sure if Fornell's machine is going to work, and if it doesn't we'll have to wait until you figure out what you need to learn. That could take months or even years."_ Gibbs really hoped it didn't take years. "_Plus, I'm sure what I got them is going to need to be washed sooner or later. And I like spending time with the kids. I'd take Tim and Tony, too, if I knew they'd enjoy it, but I doubt they would."_

"Abbs, you can't get attached," Gibbs said already knowing this was going to happen. "They can't stay young forever."

"_I know," _Abby replied with a defeated sigh. She was quiet for a moment, but she finally took a breath and said, "_Well, until we do figure out a way to return them to normal, can I please borrow Ziva for a while?"_

"Yeah," Gibbs relented, running his free hand through his hair. "But I mean it Abbs…"

"…_don't get attached_," she finished with another sigh. "_I know, Gibbs. I promise I won't."_

**NCIS**

In the end, Abby ended up taking both Ziva and Tim (though Gibbs suspected McGee only went to spend the day with Abby), leaving Gibbs alone with Tony. For the first half an hour, DiNozzo watched cartoons while Jethro tidied up the kitchen, but eventually Tony ended up joining Gibbs in the kitchen.

"What's that for?" Tony asked pointing at a metal whisk.

"Beating stuff," Gibbs replied putting the whisk away.

"You use it to hit things?" Tony questioned his eyes widening at the idea. The fact that Tony identified the word 'beating' with 'hitting' had Gibbs' gut churning.

"No, it's…" Jethro said, forcing a small smile. "It mixes eggs and batter and other stuff."

"So, it's a mixer?"

"Yeah."

"Then why didn't you say that in the first place?" Tony retorted in exasperation and continued to wander around the kitchen.

The kitchen fell silent again as Gibbs finished replacing all his cooking utensils into their proper drawer. As Jethro closed the door, he felt a tug on his jeans. He looked down and said, "What's up, Tony?"

"I wish Tim and Ziva were here," Tony responded in a quiet voice, looking down at his shoes.

"Are you bored?" Gibbs asked curiously and the small brunette nodded. "Well, what do you wanna do?" Gibbs had finished the last of his tidying; he figured he could do something with the kid. It's not like he was asking for much.

"Really? I gets to pick?"

"Why not," Jethro responded shrugging. "What do you want to do?"

**NCIS**

"I got you!" Tony exclaimed tagging Gibbs' hand. He then ran away and said, "Catch me, Gibbs!"

"I'm gonna get you," Gibbs said and chased after the small boy.

Tony laughed, ducking behind a tree. He peeked out from behind it and Gibbs moved towards him. He hid again, laughing harder. "Y-you'll never get me," he informed.

Gibbs slowly walked around the other side of the tree while DiNozzo wasn't watching him, and when Tony tried to run he ran smack dab into the older man's arms. Jethro scooped him up off the ground, spun him in a quick circle, more laughter erupting from Tony's lips, and then put him back on the ground. "You're it," Gibbs announced and ran away from Tony.

"I'm gonna getcha," Tony called chasing after the older man. Jethro slowed down enough so Tony could catch him and the small boy gave a triumphant shout and said, "I told ya."

They played tag for almost forty minutes, but Gibbs could tell when Tony was starting to get bored, so he wasn't surprised when DiNozzo asked, "Can we play something else?"

"What do you wanna play?"

"Can you…?" Tony shuffled his feet, looking at the ground.

"What is it, buddy?"

"Can you push me on the tire swing?" he whispered looking up at Gibbs. "I mean, I know Ziva felled off it, but I promise to be extra careful. Please Gibbs."

Jethro thought about it for a moment. He didn't want Tony to hurt himself like Ziva did, but he also enjoyed this side of Tony. So, he sighed, nodded, and said, "Yes, I'll push you on the swing."

"Yay!" Tony exclaimed and ran towards the tire swing.

Gibbs helped him sit on the top and told him to grip tightly to the rope. He then gently pushed Tony back and forth. DiNozzo laughed and shouted, "Higher Gibbs! Higher!"

Jethro pushed him a little higher, but the older man still made sure the rope wasn't going to break or Tony wasn't about to fall off.

"My nanny pushes me on the swing," Tony commented absentmindedly, gripping the rope as the tire slowed down. "I heard Mommy and her talking once. Mommy says it's what she's paid to do, and if she compains she can get a new job."

"What else does your mommy say to your nanny?" Gibbs asked quietly, barely pushing the swing now. A part of him didn't want to know, but a much bigger part did. This was the most he had heard Tony talk about his childhood; unless he counted quick stories that ended with him making a half assed joke or shrugging it off like those terrible memories didn't bother him in the slightest.

"She says it's her fault Daddy and her are having pro'lems. I'm not sure what that means, but I can hear Mommy and Daddy fighting sometimes about my nanny." Tony was quiet for a moment, staring at the tree, but finally he said, "Can we stop swinging, now?"

"Yeah," Gibbs responded and helped Tony off the swing. He placed Tony on the ground, and the small boy started towards the house. "Where are you going?" Gibbs called after him.

"I'm kinda tired," DiNozzo replied and Jethro nodded, following the brunette boy back into the house.

As Tony went to sleep in the easy chair, Gibbs started thinking about what DiNozzo had just told him. If he heard correctly, Tony's mother suspected Senior and the nanny were a little too 'friendly' for her liking. Gibbs wouldn't exactly put it past Tony's father; Gibbs knew Senior could be a smarmy bastard on the best of days and a Grade A asshole on the worst. Sometimes Gibbs wondered how Tony could have turned out as decent as he did with _that _as a father.

Other times Gibbs wondered if Tony hadn't been disowned and shipped away at the age of twelve would he have turned out just like Senior? Married with a kid, but still sleeping with the nanny on the side? It was a thought Gibbs never wanted confirmed, no matter how long he lived.

**NCIS**

**I know, this chapter had a lot of angst in it. I'm not even in an angsty mood, I swear.****  
><strong>

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favs last chapter. You guys are awesome and I seriously love every comment you leave.**

**So, for reading, d****rop a comment if you want, a****nd I should go.**

**See ya!**

**P.S. I might also do some Gibbs one-on-one time with Ziva and McGee. I haven't decided yet.**


	13. Chapter 13

Gibbs heard the door open, and looked up from some miscellaneous paperwork to see McGee and Ziva race inside, both carrying teddy bears. Ziva's was dressed as a ballet dancer while McGee's was dressed as a scientist. They both ran towards Gibbs and began gushing about their bears.

Despite his smile at their excitement, Gibbs momentarily wondered if he needed to take Tony to this build a bear place, but was saved the trouble when Abby walked into the house laden with bags and carrying a bear dressed as a pilot.

"McGee and Ziva told me he wants to be a pilot," she explained dropping the bags by the door. She stepped into the living room, just as Tony was stirring, and crouched down to wait for him to wake up. "Hey Tony," she said softly when he opened his eyes.

"Abby?" he whispered sitting up, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Are Tim and Ziva back, too?"

"Yeah, and I have a surprise for you." She handed him the bear.

Tony carefully took the bear from her, studying its dark brown fur. He then looked up and murmured, "Did somebody die?"

It wasn't the reaction Abby was expecting, and even Gibbs was a little taken aback by the words that came out of Tony's mouth. The older man stepped forward, crouching down next to Tony's chair, and softly asked, "Why would you ask if someone died?"

"Because Mommy buyed me a bear when Grandpa DiNozzo died," Tony explained absentmindedly toying with the bear's ear. "So," the small boy looked up, "did anybody die?"

"Somebody died?" Ziva exclaimed as she and McGee scrambled towards the group.

"No, nobody died," Gibbs informed the kids, hoping to stop any tears from being shed. He turned to DiNozzo. "Abby bought you the bear because she wanted to be nice. She bought all three of you bears. See?" Gibbs pointed at the bears in Ziva and McGee's arms. "Nobody died," he reiterated letting his eyes settle on Tony, again.

"Promise?" McGee whispered with wide, green eyes.

"We promise," Abby replied nodding, and she gave each one a hug. With the crisis averted, for the moment, Abby turned to Gibbs and said, "Let me show you what we got today." She ran to get her bags and brought them back into the living room.

She sat down on the couch and started riffling through them. "I found these cute platform heels for…" Gibbs gave her a pointed look and her voice faltered. "Oh, come on Gibbs, she'd look…" He was still giving her his look. She sighed and said, "Fine, but she _would_ look cute."

While the kids played with their new toys, Abby continued to show Gibbs all the stuff she had bought. Sometimes McGee or Ziva would pipe up and proudly say, "I helped pick it out_."_ Abby had bought a few more outfits and shoes for all three kids, more toys, and a couple more coloring books and reading books. She even picked up another car seat (which she left on the porch) since Gibbs hadn't gotten around to it, yet.

"I almost bought Tony a little suit, but I didn't think it'd be the best idea. He's four and could have easily ruined it. And I found this store that sold college paraphernalia the last time I was at the mall, but when I went in there today they didn't have any more MIT shirt's in Timmy's size. I was super bummed, but I did find a Harvard t-shirt, and I think he would have done well…"

"Abby, breath," Gibbs said cutting her off. She sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out. "No more shopping for the kids, Abbs."

"But Gibbs…"

"I'm pretty sure you have bought them enough," Jethro pointed out and Abby sighed but nodded.

"I did buy you something," she whispered taking a t-shirt from the bottom of one of her bags. She tossed it at him, and Gibbs easily caught it. "You probably won't ever wear it, but I saw it and I thought '_I have to buy that for Gibbs_.'"

Jethro shook the black t-shirt out, getting a good look at the front. In red letters were the words: _World's Greatest Dad. _Abby began talking about the shirt again, but her words just rolled off of Gibbs as he continued studying the shirt.

"_What's this?"_

"_It's a mug, Daddy. I picked it out for you. It says you're the bestest daddy ever."_

"_This is the best father's day gift, yet. Thank you."_

"Did you hear me, Gibbs?" Abby's voice burrowed its way into Gibbs' thoughts, and Kelly's beaming face was replaced by the Goth girl. He gave her a questioning look and she repeated, "I said if you need to return anything the receipts are in the bag."

"Okay."

"I should be heading home," she continued softly. Gibbs furrowed his eyebrows, wondering why she was suddenly so quiet, but one glance behind her showed the three kids asleep on the couch. "I'll come by later today."

"Okay," Gibbs replied walking her to the door. As she was putting her jacket on, Gibbs recalled the afternoon he spent with Tony, and an idea hit him. "Do you think you can take Ziva and Tony later today?"

"Sure. Why?" Abby questioned fiddling with her parasol.

"Just wondering, and if it's not any trouble, can you take Tim and Tony tomorrow?"

"Yeah." The young woman nodded and opened the door. "You know, Gibbs. I might not be the only one getting attached," she commented offhandedly before walking down the porch steps and towards her car.

**NCIS**

Abby returned just as Gibbs was finishing up dinner, and made herself at home as they ate. Afterwards, she said she was taking Tony and Ziva back to her place. Jethro could tell McGee wanted to go, too, but he didn't pitch a fit when he was left behind with Gibbs. He just stared out the window glumly, clutching the curtain in his left hand.

"They'll be back," Gibbs promised the sandy haired boy.

"I know," Tim replied softly. "I just…"

"They'll be back," Jethro repeated settling a hand on McGee's shoulder. "C'mon, I wanna show you something." He steered the small boy away from the window and towards the basement. At the door Tim resisted and tried to turn around. "What's wrong?" Gibbs asked furrowing his eyebrows.

"T-Tony says an e-evil t-troll lives down there," Tim stammered still trying to get as far away from the basement door as possible.

"Tony was only joking, Tim. I promise there is no troll, of any kind, living in my basement."

McGee swallowed, but nodded slowly and allowed Gibbs to open the door. Jethro flicked the light on and followed his companion down the stairs, ready to catch him if he missed a step. At the last step, McGee froze and stared at the small rocking chair sitting on Gibbs' work surface.

"Did you build that?" Tim questioned pointing at the chair.

"Yep," Gibbs responded moving towards the chair, "and I know it's not a robot, but I was hoping you'd like to help me finish it."

"Really?" McGee looked unsure when his green eyes met Gibbs'.

"Really."

"Okay," Tim said and turned back to the chair, smiling.

Gibbs moved the metal stool across the room. He picked Tim up and placed him on the stool. Pointing at the hand sander, he said, "We're going to be using that to smooth out the wood. Then we'll stain it."

"Mommy doesn't like messes. She says 'stains' are messes," McGee informed Gibbs.

"It's not that kind of stain," Jethro replied as he showed Tim where to put his hands on the sander. He placed his much larger hands over the boys' and helped McGee push the sander away from them, with the grain.

For a while they steadily worked in silence, but McGee broke the silence by saying, "My cousin Bailey has a chair like this."

"Does she?"

"Yep, our Papa Benson made it for her, but she won't let anyone sit in it," Tim continued sounding a tad disgruntled.

"Why not?" Gibbs questioned surprised that McGee's grandfather did wood working, too.

"'Cause she says it was a gift special made for her, and not for icky boys like me, but do you wanna hear a secret?" McGee whispered looking around the room for invisible eavesdroppers.

"Yeah," Gibbs responded equally as quiet.

"I sat in it one time," the sandy haired boy admitted guiltily. "I know I'm not 'pposed to, but Bailey is a big meanie head." His face went white and his shoulders tensed. "Please don't tell Mommy I says that. She told me I couldn't call Bailey that anymore."

"I won't say a word," Gibbs promised.

"Thank you," Tim replied and visibly relaxed. Another silence drifted over the basement as Gibbs and McGee finished sanding the chair. Once Jethro was satisfied, he put the hand sander back on his tool bench and opened a can of wood stain.

"Okay, we'll start at the top and work our way down," Gibbs said to McGee and the small boy nodded. Jethro handed the small boy a tiny brush and grabbed a bigger one for himself. He placed the stain on the work space and gently laid the chair on its side.

"Be very careful," Jethro informed Tim as they each dipped a brush in the can. "We don't want to make it look sloppy."

"Okay."

Gibbs watched as McGee handled the brush very carefully. He suspected the kid was afraid of making a mistake, and Gibbs wondered if that was a learned behavior trait. Had McGee Senior made his son afraid to make mistakes? Back when McGee was a Probie, he would stammer every time he made a mistake. Maybe he had been having flash backs to his childhood.

"You missed a spot," McGee announced pointing to a bare spot.

"Thanks," Gibbs replied ruffling the kid's hair.

"I wish Daddy and I did stuff like this," the kid murmured a few minutes later, and Gibbs could hear the underlying need in his voice. He craved a relationship with his father, and for a moment Jethro thought back to Kelly. She hated when he had to ship out again. She would have loved to have him stay home for more than a few months at a time.

"Do you spend a lot of time with your mother then?" Gibbs asked curiously.

"No, she works. I spends tons of time with Penny. She takes me to day care and picks me up and we have lots and lots of fun."

"It sounds like you do."

"Yeah. We paint and listen to music and draw and read. She says I am special and really smart."

Gibbs didn't need to be told how smart Tim was. He had read McGee's file, knew the kid graduated high school at sixteen. It also said his parents had gotten him tested when he was five, and that his IQ was around the genius range, but now Jethro wondered if it was actually Penny who had gotten her grandson tested.

A clatter knocked Gibbs back to reality, and he looked around to see the can of wood stain lying on the ground, spilling its contents all over the floor. McGee's eyes were wide and he looked on the verge of tears as he said, "I'm s-sorry. I-I didn't…"

"It's okay," Gibbs assured the boy.

"N-no it's not," McGee insisted as two tears fell down his face. "You said… you said be c-careful, and I w-wasn't and n-n-now there's a mess."

"It's okay," Gibbs repeated softly. "I make messes down here all the time." He flashed back to the first few months after Kelly and Shannon died. He didn't build anything so much as just destroy the basement. There were even a few nights that he had gotten so drunk he tried building something only to wake up the next morning with wood stain and saw dust covering his work table and a half finished thing sitting in front of him.

"R-really?" Tim questioned hiccupping.

"Really."

"It's just… M-Mommy hates messes and D-Daddy says I c-cant make anymore 'cause I'm a-a-a big boy, and b-big boys don't m-m-make messes."

Gibbs was quiet for a second, but he finally pulled the sandy haired boy in a hug and whispered, "I'm all grown up and I still make messes. Just remember, no one is perfect, Tim. Okay?" McGee nodded against Gibbs' shoulder. "Let's clean this mess up and then head upstairs. We'll finish the chair some other time." Tim sniffed and nodded, again.

Once the mess was cleaned up, Gibbs had McGee wash his hands before sitting at the table with a couple Oreos and milk. While Tim enjoyed his snack with the occasional sniff or hiccup, Gibbs thought over what he had just learned. It sounded like McGee's parents had been trying to make their son perfect. Ingraining into his head that messes and mistakes were bad, and breaking little, stupid rules was equivalent to breaking laws. No wonder the kid was so nervous when he joined Gibbs' team; with parents like his. At least he had his grandmother. Penny seemed to see him for what he was, a kid, and treated him as such.

Jethro made a mental note to make a call to Penny, to thank her for keeping Tim as close to a kid as she could, for as long as she could; it was the least he could do.

**NCIS**

**Ziva's up next. I promise.**

**So, yeah, thanks for reading. I do not own these characters. And I hope you enjoyed this.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorited last chapter.**

**Drop a comment if you can.**

**BYE!**


	14. Chapter 14

McGee had been helping Gibbs clean up the toys, in the living room, when Tony and Ziva returned home.

"Gibbs!" Tony exclaimed running towards the older man. "Abby has a coffin for a bed, and I sat in it." Gibbs gave the brunette a forced smile, trying hard not to picture Tony, at any age, in a coffin. It was bad enough Abby chose to sleep in one.

"I took pictures, Gibbs," Abby gushed, not exactly helping matters. She was standing by the door, carrying a half asleep Ziva. "It was so cute. He pretended it was a car and roped Ziva into playing with them. They 'drove' all over the world."

"Until Ziva pushed me out of the coffin for calling her a smelly head," Tony replied pointing at a bandaged elbow. "Abby let me pick the Band-Aid, and I picked the one with bats."

As Gibbs crouched down to check Tony for more injuries, Abby said, "Don't worry, Gibbs. He's fine. I made sure of it."

The older man reluctantly nodded, pushing himself to his feet. He spied McGee and DiNozzo yawning and knew it was time for bed. He turned to Abby and asked, "Do you want to help me put them to bed?"

"Yes," she answered right away and hurried up the stairs with Ziva.

"But Gibbs I'm not tired," Tony whined around another yawn, rubbing at his eyes. McGee neither agreed nor disagreed with DiNozzo. He merely stood next to the couch, fighting to keep his eyes open.

"It's time for bed," Gibbs repeated and ushered the boys towards the stairs. Jethro hurried to follow the group, nudging McGee every time the sandy haired boy began to slow down.

Abby had already put Ziva to bed by the time Gibbs and the boys entered the room. The older man handed the two boys a pair of pajamas, allowed them to get dressed, and helped them into bed, too. He hadn't realized Abby had left the room until she returned, holding three bears in her arms.

She distributed each bear to its owner, giving each owner a kiss on the forehead. "Good night," she said softly.

"G'night Abby," the kids chorused drowsily.

Abby smiled when Jethro jumped up on the bed and made himself at home. "Good night, Jethro," she said to the dog before ducking out of the room.

Gibbs studied the kids for a moment before he started towards them. He fussed with their blankets and commented, "You guys had a busy day today." He ran his hand through each of their hair, giving them a quick kiss on the forehead. "Night guys."

"Night Gibbs," they said together, already half asleep. Gibbs smiled as he backed out of the room. He left the door halfway opening, keeping the hall light on, and headed back down the stairs.

Abby was sitting at the table, coffin purse lying open in front of her, fiddling with her phone, but looked up at his approach, a smile on her face. "Just looking at some pictures I took." She showed Gibbs a photo of McGee and Ziva dressing their bears. "McGee asked me several times if we were going to make a bear for Tony. And Ziva helped me pick out the clothes for it."

She smiled, flipping to another photo. It was of Tony and Ziva sitting on Abby's couch, laughing about something on her TV. "I don't remember what they were watching, but Tony assured me you let them watch it."

"Was there a yellow sponge?" Gibbs asked curiously, still studying the picture.

"I think so."

"I hate that show."

Abby laughed as she switched to a third photo. It was of all three kids, sitting on the couch in Ducky's office, sticking their tongues out. "I took that yesterday. You know, before Tony wandered off and worried us half to death."

The last photo she showed Gibbs reminded Jethro of another picture; one featuring two little girls in his backyard with their arms around each other, huge smiles on their faces.

"_Take our picture Daddy. Please."_

"_Please Mr. Gibbs."_

"_Maddy and I will be best friends forever."_

His team was standing in front of the huge tree in his back yard. McGee stood in the middle of Tony and Ziva, DiNozzo hanging off his shoulder while Ziva had her arms around Tim's neck, giving him a hug.

"I took that the day Fornell came over," Abby commented and Gibbs could feel her eyes on his face. "Do you want me to make a copy?" she asked tentatively. He cleared his throat and nodded. "Okay, I'll give it to you tomorrow."

She took her phone back, sticking it in her coffin purse, and said, "I was thinking about taking the boys to church with me tomorrow. I need to talk to the nuns about our next bowling tournament and I know you want to spend time with Ziva." She smiled, and Gibbs gave her a look. "Don't look at me like that; I know that's what you've been doing."

She got to her feet, giving him a quick hug, her purse knocking into his leg. "And I think it's a good idea, but remember what you told me…" she left her words floating in the air as she started towards the door.

"Don't get attached," Gibbs whispered just as Abby called, "See you tomorrow Gibbs!"

**NCIS**

Abby arrived at seven the next morning and stayed long enough to let the boys have breakfast before whisking them away. Ziva was smart enough to realize something was going on, and didn't ask why she wasn't going with Abby and the boys. She merely wandered into the living room and dragged the crayons and a few coloring books out and took them to the coffee table. Ziva sat down and began coloring and Gibbs figured that was his cue to join her.

Gibbs sat next to her, glancing at the crayons. "Do you mind if I join you?" he asked curiously.

"If you would like," she replied handing him one of the coloring books. They were quiet for a while, each working steadily on their drawings, but Gibbs broke the silence. "Do you see your father often?"

"Not often," the little girl admitted, placing her purple crayon back in the box and snagging a red one. "His job takes him all over the world. But he sometimes brings Ari and me presents."

"Like what?" Gibbs questioned glancing up at Ziva.

"Ari has a pointy knife with a…" she searched for the right word, but eventually came up with, "…a white handle. _Abba_ said it was made of something that starts with a 'p.'"

"Pearl?" Gibbs suggested.

"Yes, thank you Gibbs," Ziva replied giving him a smile. "He also brought me a dolly. She's made of pore something and I can't break it."

"Porcelain," Jethro said and Ziva nodded.

They fell silent again, Gibbs returning to the picture he had been coloring. He wasn't even sure what it was supposed to be, but the girl in it had purple hair. Gibbs wasn't aware of coloring her hair purple, but he must have. Ziva glanced at his picture and giggled.

"What's so funny?" Jethro asked smiling.

"H-her hair is p-purple," the little girl replied giggling harder. "P-people do not h-have purple hair."

"Who says?"

She sobered, cocking her head curiously, her eyes meeting Gibbs'. "I have never seen anyone with purple hair Gibbs," Ziva replied patiently.

"Yes, but who says someone's hair can't be purple? Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it's not possible."

"I su'pose," Ziva relented nodding her head. She looked at Gibbs' picture and said, "People can have purple hair."

They colored for a few more minutes, but eventually Ziva pushed the coloring book away and got to her feet. She moved towards the stack of books in the corner, sifting through them, looking for one she hadn't read. When she moved away from the pile, looking disappointed, Gibbs stood up and moved towards his old radio.

He turned it on, switching from the AM stations to the FM stations. It took him a few moments to find a station playing music, even if he didn't know the band or just what in the hell they were singing about, before he turned to Ziva and said, "Do you wanna dance?"

"You want to dance with me?" she asked curiously.

"If you want to, but if you don't I'd understand."

"Only _Ima _dances with me."

"So, is that a no?" Gibbs turned around. "Alright, I'll just turn this…"

"No, I wanna dance," Ziva exclaimed moving towards Gibbs. She grabbed his hand. "Please dance with me, Gibbs."

"Alright, but only if _you_ want to dance."

"I do," she insisted tugging on his arm.

"Okay," he pretended to relent and scooped her off the floor. Ziva let out a shout of surprise, but it quickly turned into giggles as Gibbs twirled her around. "What? Don't you like my dancing?" He dipped her and she laughed harder.

"Do that again," she exclaimed between giggles. Gibbs dipped her again and twirled her in a circle. He remembered doing the same thing with Kelly, when she was around Ziva's age.

They danced around the living room to three more songs, Ziva laughing harder than she had in a long time, but eventually Gibbs had to sit down for a second. He wasn't young anymore and sometimes his knees bothered him.

"That was fun, Gibbs," Ziva said clambering onto the couch next to him. "I wish _Abba _would dance with me." She leaned back, into the couch cushions, and studied Gibbs.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"Sometimes I wish you were my father," she commented softly before looking away from him, letting her dark eyes settle on the television screen. The living room fell into a heavy silence, Gibbs still reeling from what she had just said to say anything.

"You told me I could dance," Ziva continued looking back at Gibbs. "Was that true? Would you let me dance?"

Gibbs cleared his throat, nodding. "Yeah, Ziver, I'd let you dance."

"Why doesn't _Abba _want me to dance?" the little girl asked, her dark eyes brighter than usual. "Does he not think I could do it? Am I dis'ppointing him by wanting to dance?"

"No," Gibbs replied quickly, gathering Ziva into his arms. "I'm sure he doesn't think that."

"T-then why d-does he _not_ w-want me dancing?" she questioned burying her face in Gibbs' sweat shirt.

What could he tell her? That he father wanted her to start training to be one of his 'blunt, little instruments' since she was old enough to walk? That one day he'd use that training to send her on a suicide mission that resulted in her getting tortured in Somalia? That dancing would get in the way of those plans? She was four, she wouldn't understand any of that, and Gibbs knew he could never tell her that either.

Anger towards Eli David bubbled in Gibbs' gut. It added to the anger he already felt towards DiNozzo and McGee's fathers. A part of him didn't want his team to grow up. Growing up under his care had to be better than their actual upbringings. And how hard could it be to doctor up some death certificates, tell their families they all died in that explosion? It might take some persuasion, but Ducky would eventually agree, and Abby would completely understand why he was doing it.

All he had to do was call Fornell, tell him to forget the machine. Tell Leon to give him another team, or better yet quit all together. Maybe take a desk job so he'd be home every night with his kids. It'd be worth it; they'd be worth it.

All he had to do was pick up the phone, and he could give these kids the childhoods they never had. He could be the father they never had. Just a few phone calls; it should be easy. And he wouldn't be replacing Kelly, just doing what he should have done with her.

But was it worth it? Letting Penny and Sarah believe Tim was dead? Letting Ziva's aunt or Tony's friends believe they were dead? Did they deserve that agony just so Gibbs didn't have to let his team suffer? Did he want to risk losing the best team he had ever had in order to raise them? But, in a way, he wasn't exactly losing them, either.

He looked down at Ziva, who had fallen asleep in his arms, and he wondered, again, if they would make the same choices, despite who raised them. Would they all eventually become NCIS agents regardless of their upbringings? Was it worth changing everything if they were still going to end up right here?

Gibbs sighed, running his hand through his hair. He was over thinking things. Of course he couldn't do any of that. He had to wish them back; it was the right thing to do. But was it, really? Or was it just the easy thing? What was the right thing anymore?

He glanced at the mantle, his eyes resting on the two photos on it. One was of Kelly and Shannon, smiling as they sat at his old piano. The other was of his team, the photo that had been on Abby's phone, framed in a black and red frame and stuck there by the Goth before she took the boys.

'_It's up to you, Gibbs,_' he heard Shannon say as his blue eyes settled on her face. '_What feels right to you?'_

_**NCIS**  
><em>

**Yeah, ****Gibbs**** got very angsty at the end. Again, not in an angsty mood, so I don't know where it came from.**

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favs last chapter. You guys make me day a tad brighter :)**

**So, thanks for reading, I do not own these characters, and I'll see ya in the next chapter.**

**BYE!**


	15. Chapter 15

Abby returned with the boys around one. Ziva, who had been busy coloring up to their return, greeted each boy with a smile. She then dragged both over to Gibbs' half finished picture and said, "It's okay that she has purple hair. Gibbs says so."

Jethro smiled, shaking his head, and turned his attention to Abby. She looked worn out, and Gibbs didn't blame her. He knew how tiring all three kids could be, and he wasn't surprised that even her energy couldn't keep up with theirs.

"How were they?" he asked nodding towards the boys. McGee had sat down next to Ziva and began coloring with her while Tony played with his pilot bear. Every once in a while he'd plopped the bear on the table to get Ziva and Tim's attention.

"Tony says church is boring and the women in the funny penguin costumes were creepy," Abby replied taking a seat at the table. "And McGee told me he thought the nuns at my church were nicer than the ones at his.

"But they were very well behaved, so I promised them you'd get them some ice cream." Abby gave him a sheepish grin, and Gibbs fought the urge to roll his eyes. That was all he needed, all three kids on a sugar rush.

Abby checked her phone, pushing herself to her feet. "I need to get going. I have a few things to do in my lab and a few other errands to run." She pulled her jacket on, collecting her purse. "Fornell said that machine should be at the naval yard around two tomorrow. He'll meet you there."

Gibbs vaguely nodded, remembering his earlier predicament. He was still struggling with what the right decision was, and hearing Abby bring up Tobias and everything he had done (and Abby by default) wasn't helping Gibbs in the slightest.

After quickly hugging each kid and waving at Gibbs, Abby left Jethro alone with his team. They were still in the living room, but now Tony had decided to join McGee and Ziva. It appeared coloring was only stupid unless he had no one else to play with.

For a while, Jethro watched the kids. He tried to picture them if he were to raise them. Again, he wondered if they would turn out any different. And he wondered what they would do the same. Tony would most likely still play sports. McGee would still probably join the math club or chess club. And Ziva would still dance. But would the similarities end there?

Could Ziva take her dancing further than a few classes when she was four or five? Could Tim build one of those computers that played chess with him? Would Tony use his basketball scholarship to become a pilot? What was the catalyst in each of the kids' lives that stopped them from even coming close to accomplishing their dreams? And could living with Gibbs, being raised by a widower, be enough to stop whatever happened from happening?

'_Jethro, the fact that you're planning a future for them might just be your answer_,' he heard Shannon's voice say. He couldn't remember the last time he had heard her voice outside of memories and old cassette tapes, but it was as if she were sitting right next to him.

Was she right? Had he made a decision without realizing it? Was he actually considering raising those three children, his team? Was he prepared to raise a four-year-old again, let alone three of them? Could he actually do this?

He had Abby's help; Ducky's, too, and Fornell would willingly help him. It wasn't like he'd actually be alone. He already considered taking a desk job, and he still believed it would be worth it just to see his team every night. And they didn't have to call him anything but Gibbs.

His main concern was how they would react when they realized their parents weren't coming for them. They'd be upset, Gibbs knew this from a few days ago, but their pain would eventually ease. Even if it took a few years with Jethro, they were young enough to adjust to living full time with Gibbs. And it wouldn't be like their parents had never raised them.

But again, he thought about Penny and Sarah and the small group of friends and family Tony and Ziva had; thought about how they would feel if he just told Ducky to fake a couple autopsy. If he did, he knew he could never tell Penny, Sarah, or anyone outside his immediate circle of friends (his family) that these three were, in fact, his team. He'd have to keep up the charade that they died.

He was going in circles, asking the same questions over and over, reliving the same worries, replaying the same scenarios. He would be better off flipping a coin, letting fate step in and tell him what to do, but that was the coward's way out. If he wanted to know what to do, he had to follow Phantom Shannon's advice and figure it out himself.

_Easier said than done_, he thought with a sigh looking up to see the three kids walked towards him.

"Gibbs," Ziva started rocking on her heels. "We drew you something."

"We really hope you like it," McGee continued shyly.

"Here," Tony said and handed a picture over. Gibbs looked down at it, studying the drawing.

Three, small, stick humans, a much larger stick human, and a stick dog stood outside a crookedly drawn house, a few shades lighter than his house. A sun shined down on the figures and a few w-shaped birds flew above them. Gibbs looked up at the kids and Ziva took it upon herself to explain.

"That's me," she said pointing to a figure with, what looked like, black hair. "And that's Tony," she pointed to the one next to her, the figure wearing black sunglasses. "And that's Timmy," she continued gesturing to a third stick figure whose hair was a yellow color.

"And who's that?" Gibbs asked, pointing at the larger stick figure, already knowing exactly who it was.

"That's you," McGee replied smiling. It was, in fact, him. Down to the gray blob on his head and the two, blue circles where his eyes would be. "And that's Jethro."

"I didn't want to add the stupid dog," Tony muttered bitterly. He then shook his head, brightening considerably, and expectantly said, "Do ya like it?"

Instead of answering, Gibbs stood up and carried the picture into the kitchen. He placed it on the fridge door, right in the center, keeping it in place with a heavy magnet. He stepped back, admiring the picture, and then turned to look down at the kids

"We want you to know," Ziva started after glancing at the boys, "that if our parents do not come back…" she trailed off, her eyes bright as she looked away from him. McGee looked down at his shoes, sniffing slightly.

"We'd like to stay here," Tony finally said stepping forward, not exactly meeting Gibbs' eyes. "If you want us to."

Gibbs tried to wrap his head around what his team was proposing. They wanted to stay here with him. They were essentially making his decision for him. Could he deny them what they wanted? Was he that big of a bastard?

Again he didn't verbally answer, just nodded. They nodded back before heading back into the living room, sitting back on the floor to continue drawing. Gibbs watched them for a few seconds before turning his attention to the drawing.

That could be them: a dad, three kids, and a dog. He would be doing what was best for these kids, anyone could see that, and he could do that again. He was going to do that again. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't wish them back. They were his, and they were remaining his for as long as humanly possible. End of story.

**NCIS**

**Okay, I have a very good idea where this story is heading, but I can't say anything because I don't want to spoil it. So, I am just going to say thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favs last chapter. You guys are amazing.**

**So, thanks for reading, please drop a comment if you can, I own nothing, and I should go.**

**SEE YA!**


	16. Chapter 16

Tobias was the first to speak the moment Gibbs finished his explanation. "Are you kidding me, Jethro? Do you know how big of a cover up that'll be?"

"I've thought about this. This is what I want to do," Gibbs replied crossing his arms, looking at each of the three people sitting on his couch.

"Have you? Really?" Tobias asked incredulously. "You're plan-stop me if I get anything wrong-is to tell your team's families that they have all died in an explosion. An explosion, might I add, that everyone at NCIS knows didn't kill your team. That means you'll have to rely on the entire building to keep this a secret from, not only the outside world, but SECNAV, too. Are you sure you thought this through?"

"Agent Fornell is quite right about the cover up, Jethro. You'd have to entrust this secret with a few dozen people, and something like this is bound to get out," Ducky stated calmly, diplomatically.

"Look, I'm just giving you guys a heads up. I'm not asking you to agree with me," Gibbs replied a little testily.

"You're a stubborn ass you know that?" Tobias deadpanned.

"And I thank you for your continued support," Jethro shot back.

"Gibbs, is this really what you want?" Abby asked carefully, finally speaking. She looked a little worried, no doubt wondering if he were thinking a little too much with his heart and not enough with his brain.

"Yes Abbs, it is."

"And there is no talking you out of this?" Ducky questioned slowly.

"No."

"You're still a stubborn ass," Fornell muttered darkly. He sighed and continued, "But I guess it's up to you what you wanna do. So, if you're sure, I guess we can't try and talk you out of it." It sounded like that was _exactly_ what he wanted to do, but, to Gibbs' surprise, he didn't.

"When are you telling Director Vance?" Abby asked after a heavy silence.

"Tomorrow," Gibbs replied without hesitation. He was going to tell Leon in person. This wasn't something they should be discussing over the phone.

After a few more minutes, Ducky and Tobias stood and put their coats on. Moving towards the door, Tobias stopped and said, "I really hope you know what you're doing." Gibbs just threw him a look, so he put his hands up. "Just saying," Fornell muttered and stepped out of the house.

"This was ultimately your decision," Ducky informed Gibbs, "and I support your choice."

"Thanks Duck," Jethro said softly. Ducky gave him a small smile before placing his hat on his head and following Fornell outside.

It was quiet for a few seconds, but finally Abby stated, "Weren't you the one who told _me_ not to get attached?" She smiled sadly. "At least they're not _really_ going to be gone," she commented glancing at the photo she had taken. "Though, I'll miss seeing them every day. You know, you getting annoyed when Timmy and I use too much techie talk or all of Tony's movie quotes. And Ziva still hasn't bought me a new cupcake since Timmy ate my other one.

"But I get to see them grow up. I can be their Auntie Abby. Though, I'm a little annoyed that I'm now older than Tony and Timmy, and _way_ older than Ziva."

She stood up, grabbed her jacket, but didn't put it on. Instead, she studied Gibbs, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth. She was quiet for almost a full minute, making Jethro wonder just what in the hell she was thinking, when finally she took a breath and said, "I see why you're doing this, I do, but do you think it's the right choice for them? And is it the right choice for _you_, Gibbs? They can't replace Kelly and Shannon." She left before he could respond, closing the door behind her with a silent click.

**NCIS**

_He found himself standing in a high school courtyard amongst a thick crowd of people. A few teens jostled his shoulder as they passed him. One turned to apologize, his open graduation robes dangling off his shoulders, a smile on his face._

_Gibbs waved off the apology and the kid turned back to join his friends. Jethro glanced around the courtyard, wondering why in the hell he was there, but froze when he heard a familiar, yet accent less, voice say, "There you are, Dad. We've been looking for you."_

_Gibbs turned, eyes settling on a teenage Ziva. Her usually frizzy hair had been straighten and put up with a barrette and she was wearing a pale, purple sundress with matching sandals. A diploma was clutched in her hand, her graduation robes hung over her arms, and she was grinning. "We must have lost you in the crowd."_

"_What…?"_

"_Come on," she said grabbing his hand. "Tim and Tony are around here somewhere." She dragged him through the crowd, greeting a few people as she past them. "I saw Jimmy in the crowd with his wife. Too bad Uncle Ducky is no longer with us; he would have enjoyed the ceremony, too."_

"_What?" When exactly did Ducky die? Gibbs had just seen his oldest friend a few hours ago._

"_I know you don't like talking about it, Dad, but you need to realize it wasn't your fault. You had us to take care of. Uncle Ducky wouldn't want you to…" Ziva trailed off, her dark eyes scanning the area. "Oh, there they are. Come on."_

_She dragged him over to two boys roughhousing with a slightly pudgy sandy haired kid. "Tony, Matt leave Tim alone," Ziva snapped at the two guys and they looked up at her._

"_Hey Z," the one called Matt said raising his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. Ziva threw him a dirty look._

"_Hey, what did I say about ogling my sister?" Tony asked his friend slowly, darkly._

"_Never do it when you're around," Matt deadpanned and Tony and Ziva punched him in the arm. "Ow, you Gibbs' are abusive," the kid grumbled before wandering away, ruffling Ziva's hair as he passed her._

"_Your friend is infuriating," Ziva said turning to face Tony._

_He ignored her and shifted his attention to Gibbs. "Hey Dad, did you hear the J Man when each of our names were called. I think he was the loudest in the crowd. I'm sure Abby would have been equally loud."_

"_Sure?"_

"_Tony," McGee hissed elbowing him._

"_It's not like its news to him," Tony whispered back. "She's been gone for over a decade." Sadness washed over the kids, neither looking at each other, but finally Tony looked up and said, "So, are we doing anything tonight, Dad? Because I was invited to this party at Matt's…"_

"_A party? After the last one I bet Dad doesn't even let you go," Ziva said giving Tony a triumphant smile._

"_I swear, Dad, this one will have an adult. Well, Matt's older brother, but he's twenty-six so he is technically an adult and a marine. I'll even take Tim and Ziva, just so I'll have someone responsible with me." He dug his elbow in each of their sides and was punched for his effort._

"_Matt's right, we are abusive," Tony commented playfully. He turned his gaze back to Gibbs. "Please Dad, can I go?"_

"_W-when will you be back?" Gibbs asked through numb lips, still reeling over the fact that both Abby and Ducky were gone._

"_Don't worry, Dad, I'll be back before curfew. I know the rules. As long as I live under your roof, I'll be home by midnight. I still can't wait until I go to college, though. The girls alone would be worth staying out all night."_

"_College isn't _just _about girls, Tony," McGee piped up._

"_So says the valedictorian," Tony teased nudging the golden medal around Tim's neck. "You know, little bro, that smart guy routine will only get you so far."_

"_Say that to me again when you're working for me in ten years," McGee retorted giving Tony a small smirk._

"_You're getting cheeky there in your old age, Tim-Tim." Tony smiled when Tim lightly pushed him. The banter almost reminded Gibbs of the two when they were on his team, but they weren't part of his team. Not anymore. They were his kids, graduating high school, talking about college. It was the life he wanted to give them, but Abby and Ducky were gone._

"_So, Dad, about that party?"_

**NCIS**

_Gibbs had allowed Tony to go to the party, but only if Tim and Ziva went with him, and after they had a quick dinner. He then went home and began searching through his house, looking for anything that would tell him what happened to Abby and Ducky._

_The house had changed. The walls were no longer bare, now they featured photos of all three kids from different stages of life. Gaped tooth first graders, crooked teeth fourth graders, brace face sixth graders, awkward looking freshmen, and their senior photos. There were also sports photos, a few recital photos, and one of a grinning McGee at a science fair holding a blue ribbon._

_On the fridge there were a few magnets depicting different colleges: MIT, Yale, Harvard, U of C, Stanford, and NYU. With the exception of MIT (unless Tony or Ziva picked up a love of machinery growing up), Gibbs wondered which kid was going where. He could see them going to any of those schools, being whatever they wanted to be, and all because they were raised by a halfway decent father._

_Gibbs finally found a yellow, tin box in his upstairs bedroom. He sat down on his bed, opening the top, and sifted through the contents. Along with the clippings announcing Shannon and Kelly's accident, there was also a clipping about Ducky and Abby._

_The headline read: _Lab Tech and Local ME killed in Hostage Situation. _Hostage Situation? When had there been a hostage situation and why hadn't Gibbs done anything about it? He hurriedly scanned the story, realizing that two suspects had been put together and broken out of interrogation, taking several people hostage. Before SWAT could storm the building they killed six people and injured eight others, including Leon Vance and Jimmy Palmer._

_Gibbs put the clipping down, glancing down at his shoes. Had he been the reason Ducky and Abby died? If he had been there he would have made sure Abby and Ducky had gotten out of the situation alive. He would have made sure neither suspect was in the same room. On the off chance they did escape, he would have used whatever force necessary to take them down, and he knew his team would have helped in a heartbeat; especially if it insured they saved all six of those people._

_Instead, he left his team young, quit NCIS, and gotten two people he cared for killed. This wasn't what he wanted. It was far from what he wanted. He hadn't thought about how his actions would affect the other people in his life; the ones who weren't four and didn't need him to always protect them._

_He made to close the box, sick to his stomach, but froze when he spotted another clipping. This one had a picture of Fornell on it. He slowly picked it up, but only read the headline: _Agent Slain in Shoot Out. Back Up Too Late.

_Gibbs closed the tin box, tossing it away from him, and stood up. This couldn't be happening. His friends, Abby, they were all dead. All because he wanted to raise three kids; three kids that he had already, technically, risen. They were better people because they were on his team; they didn't need to have a regular childhood. He shouldn't have thought he had to coddle them. Why did he think they needed twenty-four hour protection? Was Abby right? Was he trying to replace Shannon and Kelly with his team?_

"_Wake up, Gibbs," he heard a familiar voice say. He whirled around, trying to find the speaker. "It's time to wake up, now."_

**NCIS**

Gibbs jerked awake, finding himself lying on his couch, staring at the ceiling. It had been a dream, just a stupid dream, but that didn't mean he didn't know what to do. He couldn't replace Shannon and Kelly with his team. He had to let them grow up. It was time for them to grow up.

He hurriedly got dressed and called Abby. She agreed to come over and watch the kids, and Gibbs thanked her and hung up before she could ask any questions. He waited until she showed up before heading out, driving his car to the fair grounds.

Sure enough, the moment he pulled up, there sat the Zoltar machine. He put his car in park, turned the engine off, pocketed the keys, and got out. Slowly, he headed towards the machine, eyeing it cautiously, and stopped within touching distance of it.

"That's what'll happen if I leave them young, isn't it? Fornell, Abby, and Ducky will die?" The eyes glowed yellow briefly. Gibbs was quiet for a moment, knowing in his gut what he had to do, but having a hard time convincing his heart.

He finally drew in a deep breath and said, "I wish I never made that wish." The machine's eyes glowed yellow a second time and everything went black.

**NCIS**

Gibbs found himself back at the crowded, noisy fair. He looked around, confused for a second, but reality caught up with him when he heard Ducky ask, "What are you suggesting? Do you wish they were children?"

The machine had taken Gibbs back to the day he made the wish, but instead of making the wish this time, Jethro sighed and said, "No Duck, I just…"

"I know Jethro," Ducky said sympathetically.

"Big!" Adult Tony's voice exclaimed and Gibbs turned to see his SFA racing towards the machine. "1988! Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins. About a kid who just wants to be older. I haven't seen one of these since I was a kid." Tony turned, meeting Gibbs' eyes, and said, "Boss, do you have quarter."

"Let's go," Gibbs said grabbing DiNozzo's arm.

"But Boss…" Tony protested but allowed himself to be dragged away. Gibbs didn't want any of his team near that machine.

**NCIS**

**Okay, so this wasn't my original idea for this chapter, but I didn't like the direction the other one went, so I wrote this instead.**

**Anyway, I only have an epilogue to write now, and this story, sadly, will be done. I know a lot of you wanted them to stay young forever, but like they say 'all good things need to come to an end.' And the team had to grow up.**

**Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorited last chapter. You guys are awesome.**

**Thanks for reading, all recognizable characters are not mine, and I'll see ya in the last chapter.**

**Drop me a comment if you can.**

**BYE!**


	17. Epilogue

**Three Months Later…**

The elevator doors opened, Tony and Ziva stepped off, hauling two suspects behind them. Gibbs followed them off, McGee keeping pace with him, trailing his agents to the bullpen.

"DiNozzo…" he called after Tony.

"Rule number one, Boss," Tony finished for him as both he and Ziva continued to the back elevator to take the handcuffed men down to interrogation.

"McGee…"

"Run hair and DNA samples down to Abby," the younger guy replied nodding and rushed to keep up.

Gibbs took a seat at his desk, glancing at his calendar. He knew what day it was, he could recall the newspaper clipping from his dream. He never quite figured out if the clipping had been real or if it was just a figment of his imagination, but he wasn't taking any chances.

He turned in his seat, his eyes scanning his half wall. There were a few photos of people he had saved, some newspaper clippings, and a couple of pictures Abby had taken of the team, but there was one in particular he was looking for.

Smack dab in the middle, thumbed tacked by a green tack, was a photo of his team. They were standing in front of the big tree in his back yard. McGee was in the middle of Tony and Ziva, DiNozzo hanging off his shoulder while Ziva had her arms around him. Gibbs recalled finding the photo on his mantel when he had gotten home after the fair, still in the black and red frame. It was his only clue that maybe, just maybe his wish hadn't all been a dream.

"Tony, it is simple science," Ziva was saying as she and Tony returned to the bullpen. "Women are superior to men."

"In what universe?" Tony retorted moving towards his desk.

"We do not think with our penises for one thing," Ziva replied coolly.

"Oh, don't give me that crap. I had a girlfriend once that wanted nothing but sex." DiNozzo sat down, booting his computer up. "So, women are just as bad as men."

"Are you sure she wasn't a guy, Tony?" McGee questioned as he returned to his desk, Ziva chuckled.

"One time!" Tony exclaimed. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" He turned to Ziva. "And don't start. You have no clue what he is talking about."

Gibbs stood up, having heard enough. He may have gotten his team back, but sometimes he wondered if they really grew up. He headed towards the back elevator, intending to go down to interrogation.

He pressed the button, waiting for the doors to open. As they did, he heard Tony exclaim, "You told her?"

"She forced it out of me," Tim replied hurriedly.

"I can be…" Ziva trailed off, obviously looking for the right word, "…very _persuasive_ sometimes."

Gibbs shook his head, stepping on the elevator. As the doors closed, he heard a familiar voice say, "_You made the right decision, Jethro." _He silently agreed with the voice. Did he miss his younger team? Yes, but it was worth having the older versions back.

**NCIS**

**Yes, this is the end. I want to thank everyone who reviewed, alerted, favorited, and stuck with this story until the end. You guys are awesome and I really cannot thank you enough.**

**So, thanks for reading, I still do not own these characters, and I'll see you guys in the next story.**

**Drop a comment if you can.**

**BYE!**


End file.
